Why Public Blockchains Are Supported: The Dynamics of Blockchain Fundamentalism

The background behind why blockchain fundamentalists strongly advocate for public blockchains involves a complex interplay of various dynamics. Here, we examine the primary factors.

1. Rejection of Centralization and the Pursuit of Freedom

The essence of blockchain technology lies in being "decentralized." Public blockchains have no specific administrator or central authority, allowing anyone to access them and maintaining a structure where data is difficult to tamper with. This "independence from the center" is a crucial value for fundamentalist supporters and is a factor that generates distrust toward private or consortium blockchains that have administrators.

People who have strong distrust toward financial institutions or governments, in particular, tend to believe that centralized systems compromise transparency and reliability. Therefore, fully open public blockchains that anyone can participate in are considered the "ideal form of a free and reliable system."

2. Emphasis on Transparency and Reliability

Public blockchains are characterized by high transparency, as anyone can verify transactions and code content. This allows users and third parties to audit the system, making it easier to guarantee trust. Fundamentalists believe that a fully open system is the only one that is "truly reliable," and they tend to view restricted private or consortium blockchains as undermining the inherent advantages of blockchain.

Public blockchains with ensured transparency are idealized as a common foundation that everyone can trust, especially in global projects and financial transactions.

3. Open Source Culture and Community-Driven Values

Many public blockchains are operated as open source and are supported by communities where developers and users can contribute freely. This open and autonomous development style fosters empathy for decentralized systems and stands in contrast to restricted blockchains involving corporations or governments.

Developers and engineers who are accustomed to open source culture, in particular, have a strong affinity for public blockchains where they can contribute freely. It can be said that this cultural background leads to strong support for public blockchains.

4. Perspectives on Innovation and Adoption

Because public blockchains are open, they are available to anyone, and one can expect a "network effect" where the value increases as the number of users grows. This is believed to advance the development of new services and applications, accelerating the growth of the Web3 ecosystem.

For this reason, public blockchains are idealized as drivers of innovation, which is a factor in why they are passionately supported as the core of the future internet.

5. Social Dynamics and Influence Within the Community

In the blockchain fundamentalist community, supporting public blockchains is seen as a status symbol of "genuine belief" and an element that strengthens a sense of camaraderie. In this community, supporting other models is often viewed as a "compromise" or a sign of "weak conviction," and a stance of strongly pushing for public blockchains is easily respected.

Furthermore, because the community's influence is strong, public blockchain supporters reinforce each other's opinions, promoting actions based on shared values.

As described, support for public blockchains is born from a complex entanglement of not only technical elements but also cultural and psychological dynamics.