[adventured]

Yes, the extrapolation being missed by the article, is that the rich will control bitcoin, and nothing can ever stop that from happening. It goes to the very core of how bitcoin is designed that allows for it to be dominated by a large rich entity with enough processing power. Inherently the 'little guy' will be priced out of bitcoin, it was always going to be that way. Whether it's one or ten entities in question doesn't matter, bitcoin will be dominated by rich, powerful companies or persons, and that powerful position will only increase in fortification with time.

This principle pops the utopian fantasy of bitcoin that some cling to, but only a different approach to digital currencies will get you around the issue.

Money & power always consolidates down to the hands of a few that will possess dramatic influence compared to the rest of the market participants. See: JP Morgan, pre-Fed.

[wmf]

the rich will control bitcoin, and nothing can ever stop that from happening.

But should the rich have control in proportion to their richness or out of proportion to it? That's the key issue that I see behind this article (and the previous selfish mining work).

[jayd3e]

That's a grim reality if true. I don't have any information that would refute this claim, so I can't disagree, and it actually makes a lot of sense.