Bittensor: Full Decentralization in a Year and a Half — Founder's Acknowledgment
Jacob Steeves, founder of Bittensor, made an important statement: the protocol is not yet fully decentralized. The reason is the need for rapid development of artificial intelligence technologies, which requires centralized management in the early stages.
Unlike Bitcoin, which was originally designed as a system resistant to external control, Bittensor is in a phase of active growth. Currently, the network is managed by a small group of engineers. This approach allows for quick updates and bug fixes without sacrificing quality for the sake of "democratic" procedures. This explanation is logical: in the field of AI, the speed of innovation is critical, and excessive decentralization could slow down development.
Steeves divided the project community into three groups. For supporters without technical knowledge, detailed explanations for each update will be released. The team already works directly with developers. As for the opinions of "scammers and critics" who use the idea of decentralization to block updates, the founder intends to ignore them.
At the same time, Steeves emphasized that Bittensor is already decentralized at the ownership level: the project had no premine, and 128 subnet teams are functioning in the network. This is an important nuance—the distribution of assets and governance is already embedded in the architecture.
The development roadmap includes launching short position mechanisms to protect against manipulation and implementing rights for alpha token holders. Full transfer of network control to the community is planned within the next year and a half—after the key protocol mechanisms are ready.
Bittensor provides access to computing resources through an open global network without intermediaries. This is an ambitious concept, but the path to full decentralization will require time and careful development.
Analytical commentary: Steeves' admission is an honest and pragmatic step. Instead of wishful thinking, the Bittensor team focuses on creating a functional product. A year and a half is a realistic timeframe for transitioning to decentralized governance if all mechanisms are fine-tuned. However, the community should closely monitor the process to prevent the concentration of power in the hands of a narrow group of developers.