Governance and Anti-Fragility are Key to Robust Decentralized Systems, and Synthetix Intends to Stand Out
A prolonged debate in the space is that of whether decentralization is a spectrum or an absolute state. That is, can a system have different degrees of decentralization or is it simply just a binary function of ‘yes’ or ‘no’. Synthetix, one of the largest dApps on Ethereum, believes that the former holds, and the project intends to prove this by serving as a prime example of how control can move from a core team to the entire community, December 18, 2019.
Making Changes and Coordinating Decisions
At its core, decentralization of a protocol implies no entity or cartel can capture control and implement their will over the network at large. In addition to this, a network must be antifragile to attacks, meaning the attack should make the network stronger. In order to keep control out of the hands of the few, communities need to find a way to coordinate decision making in a robust manner, so as to keep everyone included and allow the best ideas to shine.
This is where the idea of a DAO comes in. Yes, the term ‘DAO’ has been taboo since the great hack of 2016, but this alluring concept has made a comeback by way of Moloch, MetaCartel, and others.
Synthetix aims to one day completely transition from the current state of governance towards a DAO. But before this can happen, the core team and community must be confident that the network can survive on its own.
How Synthetix Plans to Pivot to Decentralization
According to the co-founder of Synthetix, Kain Warwick, there are key aspects that need to be addressed in the context of this discussion: legal and operational structure, protocol changes, and product improvements.
Moving to a DAO solves most of the legal and operational issues. Given the sheer amount of progress in DAOs and smart contract coding since 2016, the quality and security of such organizations have drastically improved.
Protocol changes are already gradually finding their way towards a more community-driven approach. Synthetix recently changes its supply schedule as per the recommendations of a few active community members.
Finally, product improvement is supposedly being ushered through the partnership with ChainLink. As the most widely used oracle platform, the community can add new synths and request ChainLink to provide the necessary data to run said contracts.
Overall, the project seems to be on the right track as they have gained a stupendous amount of traction in a short period of time. Hopefully, Synthetix is able to prove that the shift from centralized control to decentralized management is very much possible.
