PoA

VeChain
2026-07-23 05:30:14

How VeChain Works: Dual Tokens, Supply Chain Tracking, and Key Risks

VeChain is a public blockchain built for supply chain use cases, powered by the VeChainThor network and a dual-token model of VET and VTHO. Its enterprise focus has driven adoption, while its centralized structure remains a key point of debate.

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How VeChain Works: Dual Tokens, Supply Chain Tracking, and Key Risks
Decentralizat
2026-07-22 13:37:23

Omid Malekan argues decentralization is not idealism but a hard-nosed view of power

Omid Malekan, a former Citi crypto specialist and now a professor at Columbia Business School, argues that decentralization is the only feature that truly matters in blockchain design. In his view, every network that attracts millions of users and settles trillions in value will create constant incentives for companies and governments to capture it, whether through direct control, internal takeover, or softer forms of co-option. That is why he dismisses permissioned systems, validator-heavy Layer-1 chains, and Layer-2 networks that claim openness while relying on a single sequencer or lacking proof structures. Malekan frames his argument not as utopianism but as realism rooted in history, institutions, and incentives. He says large organizations rarely surrender profit and control voluntarily, and that many of today’s tokenization and enterprise blockchain narratives ask the market to believe exactly that. He points to examples from finance and technology, including Visa, Mastercard, Google, The Clearing House, Zelle, NSCC, the Federal Reserve, FedNow, Robinhood, Custodia, and comments attributed to the CEO of Digital Asset. His core claim is that pseudo-decentralized systems are weaker than both traditional finance and genuinely open networks: less efficient than existing infrastructure, yet less secure than systems built to resist capture from day one. Ethereum, he says, has many flaws, but still compares favorably with corporate alternatives.

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Omid Malekan argues decentralization is not idealism but a hard-nosed view of power