Answers are grounded in this paper and cite their sources.
Bitcoin has achieved popularity by promising users a fully decentralized, low-cost virtual currency system. However, a limited set of entities controls Bitcoin's services, decision-making, mining, and incident resolution processes. These entities can decide Bitcoin's fate, bypassing the will of the multitude of users that populate the network.
No takes yet. Share an insight, caveat, or question.
Gervais et al. (2014) studied this question.
Synapse has enriched 10 related papers. Consider them for comparative context: