The recent crypto market crash wiped out billions of dollars in value within minutes. But beyond the red charts and liquidations, it also raised a far more serious question: Are investors ignoring how centralized the crypto ecosystem has quietly become?
As reported by , just a few big exchanges control most of the market activity. Out of nearly $19 billion in leveraged trades that were wiped out during Friday’s crash, the majority came from only three platforms: Hyperliquid, Bybit, and Binance. This kind of concentration shows how centralized crypto trading still is, even within platforms branded as “decentralized.”
In a space built on the promise of decentralization, transparency, and financial freedom, the events of the past few days revealed just how fragile the system still is. The top 100 altcoins dropped nearly 80% in a matter of minutes, prices across exchanges collapsed simultaneously, billions were liquidated, and systems froze.
Founder and CEO of Cyber Capital, Justin Bons, highlighted in a tweet that out of the top 100 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization, 11 of them are fully permissioned—meaning they operate under centralized control. These include BNB, XRP, XLM, HBAR, MNT, POL, VET, ARB, OP, STX, and STRK.
While all of these use blockchain technology, many depend on a limited number of validators or corporate-controlled governance models. This gives the appearance of decentralization, but not its substance. In practical terms, a few entities can decide how these networks operate, who can participate, and how upgrades or changes are made.
They often deliver faster transaction speeds and smoother user experiences, but at a cost—the loss of true permissionless access and trustless verification that define crypto’s original vision.
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Centralized wallets can be risky for crypto users. Since they store a lot of money in one place, hackers often target them. The companies running these wallets can also freeze or block funds anytime if there’s a problem or rule change.
True decentralization means owning assets directly on-chain, using wallets that users control, and participating in networks that are transparent and open.
However, as the debate continues, replied that not every crypto project needs to be fully decentralized to be real or valuable. Some are well-managed companies building on the blockchain, similar to public companies in the stock market, but operating within the crypto space to create real products and grow businesses in a new financial system.
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