Helius CEO mert: Decentralization does not mean the absence of organization; zero coordination cost is centralization.

According to ChainCatcher, Solana development infrastructure Helius CEO mert posted on X, stating that decentralization is essentially “coordination without a central authority.” If the coordination cost is close to zero, it is actually centralized; if the coordination cost is infinitely high, it also cannot be considered decentralized from a technical standpoint, as the system would not be able to function properly.

mert illustrated this perspective with a thought experiment: Suppose there is currently an extremely decentralized blockchain with hundreds of thousands of nodes running at home, distributed mining power, and distributed token supply. He then put forward another extreme scenario—if North Korea could transfer funds from wallet A to wallet B within time T, that would be equivalent to the chain being able to simultaneously detonate nuclear weapons in the majority of countries around the world.

Finally, suppose this blockchain could successfully freeze wallet A’s funds through a fork without causing mass casualties. Would this blockchain still be considered decentralized? mert believes that although humans can achieve coordination motivated by the shared incentive of “not dying,” this does not mean that the chain is “unorganized.” Decentralization is still essentially “coordination without a central authority.”