CZ vs SBF, a propelling argument for decentralization
Tldr: With the giants of CEXs fighting among each other, we think it is a good time to think about decentralization and why it matters. The recent indirect twitter storm between Sam Banked-Friedman (FTX) and Changpeng Zhao (Binance) led to multiple discussions supporting and against one and the other which shifted against SBF because of recent revelations. Nonetheless, this showcases a bigger issue, the issue of relying on two centralized points. Through this article we will discuss the issue between the giants, some merits of decentralization and what is Stable Unit doing in that regard.
The two CEX pillars
CZ, from his real name Changpeng Zhao, founded Binance in 2017. 2 years later he found himself on the top of an empire which never stopped growing. At the same time, Binance incubated FTX, another centralized exchange, founded by Sam Banked Friedman. In 2021, Binance exited FTX and was paid in USDT and FTT (The FTX exchange token)
Fast forward to 2022, Binance haven’t sold yet its FTT position and CZ tweets about Binance’s decision to do so.
Alameda’s CEO, Caroline Ellison replied with an OTC offer to buy all the FTT tokens Binance has but it doesn’t seem that CZ is interested in any way. (At the time of the offer, FTT was valued at close to 22$ per token)
This public but indirect fight captivated crypto twitter for the past few days and while it displays the importance of the two individuals for the industry it also displays the importance we give to centralized players of the industry compared to decentralization which is the core ethos of this industry.
In the lights of the recent revelations regarding FTX’s alleged insolvency, Jonwu made a well written thread explaining the situation:
The threat against DeFi
Besides requiring from protocol to query a list of OFAC-sanctionned address IRL in order to avoid any illegal transaction. SBF also advocated for considering DEXs and other decentralized DeFi dApps frontends hosts as brokers that need to KYC their users and register as a broker.
In a recent thread, Sam explained his positions regarding regulations and how he thinks the industry should move forward:
Although Sam explained that he shared this as a way to start conversation rather than to impose his views on everyone, many criticised the move leading to important backlash on social media.
Why decentralization matters
Decentralization, for some it is a fundamental aspect of blockchain technology while for others it is a buzz word that is used to raise for any idea during the bull run.
In reality, decentralization is much simpler than that, it is avoiding the reliance on any centralized failure point. It is not linked to the presence or not of an influential founder but rather to the ability of the project, application or company of not being controlled by one single person.
The importance of decentralization in Web3 should be self-explanatory as we decided as an industry to move away from Web2, its decision making process and the lack of true ownership.
The web3 movement was a way to distance ourselves from totalitarian regimes where an elite decides for everyone and cannot be questioned. We have seen the repercussions Web2 had on personal freedom, freedom of the press and financial freedom with social media banning opposition figures, Paypal threatening to financially sanction users for their speech, among other cases of centralized oversight.
Web2 was a realisation of George Orwell’s 1984 with strong surveillance and control.
Furthermore, decentralized protocols are also, by nature, more transparent as for most, they built their user base on-chain. What happened to FTX and Alameda is the result of shady practices happening behind closed doors.
The user in Web3 has a different journey as he can decide about the future of the products he uses (as long as they’re decentralized). This new democracy enabled by blockchain where each one of us could have some power in the system is what brought millions to the industry. It is also access to a variety of public ledgers to observe transactions happening in real time and assess shady practices.
Wether it is financial power or social power, this industry enabled a certain freedom to many who felt left out of the traditional system.
Stable Unit DAO, the DAO for the next millions
In a desire to build an inclusive and community owned protocol, the Stable Unit DAO was designed to be open to everyone. You can become a DAO member today and start your journey in the Stable Unit DAO.
To be able to do so, the Stable Unit DAO has a particular general DAO structure:
- 50% of the governance power goes to the SuDAO erc-20 token holders
- 50% of the governance power goes to the Stable Unit DAO NFT holders
The DAO controls the treasury and can vote for actions such as token buybacks or allocate the treasury for other purposes. The DAO also controls the protocol and can even terminate the core team.
To avoid contributing members getting diluted, the SU DAO NFT is locked and could only be transferred once the project reaches a certain requirement.
To lower the requirement, members can contribute in micro-tasks or in normal tasks to earn experience points (XP). The highest your level, the highest your governance power in the DAO as well.
Learn more NOW by joining the Stable Unit discord and introducing yourself (your occupations in life, where you come from, why are you joining the Stable Unit discord).
👀 Join the discord to get whitelisted for the next token distribution : https://bit.ly/Discord-SuDAO
Edit: The article was edited in the lights of recents news regarding FTX & Binance.
