Introduction:

What is decentralization? In blockchain, decentralization refers to the transfer of control and decision-making from a centralized entity (individual, organization, or group thereof) to a distributed network. Decentralized networks strive to reduce the level of trust that participants must place in one another, and deter their ability to exert authority or control over one another in ways that degrade the functionality of the network.

Why decentralization matters

Decentralization is not a new concept. When building a technology solution, three primary network architectures are typically considered: centralized, distributed, and decentralized. While blockchain technologies often make use of decentralized networks, a blockchain application itself cannot be categorized simply as being decentralized or not. Rather, decentralization is a sliding scale and should be applied to all aspects of a blockchain application. By decentralizing the management of and access to resources in an application, greater and fairer service can be achieved. Decentralization typically has some tradeoffs such as lower transaction throughput, but ideally, the tradeoffs are worth the improved stability and service levels they produce. (Source - )

Methodology:

In this dashboard, we will compare Near vs Ethereum and Near today vs Near in 2021 with the following metrics:

• Amount staked with validators
• Blocks produced
• Number of Transactions
• Number of Swaps

Definitions:

Under PoW, a 51% attack is when an entity controls more than 50% of the miners in a network and uses that majority to alter the blockchain. In PoS, a group or individual would have to own 51% of the staked cryptocurrency.

Summary:

• In terms of $NEAR staked to validators, the maximum amount is ~23.35M staked to bzam6yjpnfnxsdmjf6pw.poolv1.near which represents 4.92% of total $NEAR staked.

• In comparison, at the end of 2021, the maximum amount was ~42.93M staked to staked.poolv1.near representing 10.1% of total $NEAR staked.

• The number of validators have increased from 161 to 256 and the number of validators required for 51% attack has also increased from 16 to 17.

• For Ethereum, the dominance of LIDO (0xae7ab96520de3a18e5e111b5eaab095312d7fe84) has increased from 18% at the end of 2021 to 30%.

• Participants required for 51% attack has also worsened from 22 to 10.

• The top 10 have produced 38% of blocks in Near compared to 68% in Ethereum.

• The top 10 dominance in Near has reduced from 45% in Sep 21 to 35% as of today.

• For Ethereum, the top 10 dominance has increased from 53% in July 15 to 82% as of today.

• The top 10 users have performed 54% of total transactions on Near compared to 15% on Ethereum.

• The top 10 dominance on Near has increased from 27% to 50% whereas for Ethereum, it has reduced from 44% to 6%

• The top 10 users have performed 36% of swaps on Near compared to only 3% on Ethereum.

• For Near, the top 10 dominance has continuously increased from 28% to 96%.

• For Ethereum, the top 10 dominance has reduced from 51% to 6%.

Amount Staked:

• In terms of $NEAR staked to validators, the maximum amount is ~23.35M staked to bzam6yjpnfnxsdmjf6pw.poolv1.near which represents 4.92% of total $NEAR staked.
• In comparison, at the end of 2021, the maximum amount was ~42.93M staked to staked.poolv1.near representing 10.1% of total $NEAR staked.
• The number of validators have increased from 161 to 256 and the number of validators required for 51% attack has also increased from 16 to 17.
• For Ethereum, the dominance of LIDO (0xae7ab96520de3a18e5e111b5eaab095312d7fe84) has increased from 18% at the end of 2021 to 30%.
• Participants required for 51% attack has also worsened from 22 to 10.

Transactions:

• The top 10 have produced 38% of blocks in Near compared to 68% in Ethereum.
• The top 10 dominance in Near has reduced from 45% in Sep 21 to 35% as of today.
• For Ethereum, the top 10 dominance has increased from 53% in July 15 to 82% as of today.

Blocks:

• The top 10 users have performed 54% of total transactions on Near compared to 15% on Ethereum.
• The top 10 dominance on Near has increased from 27% to 50% whereas for Ethereum, it has reduced from 44% to 6%

Swaps:

• The top 10 users have performed 36% of swaps on Near compared to only 3% on Ethereum.
• For Near, the top 10 dominance has continuously increased from 28% to 96%.
• For Ethereum, the top 10 dominance has reduced from 51% to 6%.

Conclusion:-

• In terms of blockchain metrics like amount staked to validators and blocks produced, Near is more decentralised than Ethereum and has been improving consistently.
• However, in terms of user metrics like number of transactions and swaps, Ethereum is more decentralised and Near’s performance has worsened.
• The reason for Ethereum’s poor performance in amount staked could be because withdrawals are still not enabled on the beacon chain and this gives a natural advantage to liquid staking platforms like LIDO and Rocketpool.