Asch Plummets After Crackdown on Centralized Blockchains
-controls">Decentralization Advocates Condemn China's Crypto Controls
SHANGHAI - The price of Asch (XAS), a blockchain platform developed in China, plunged over 15% on Thursday after the Chinese government announced a crackdown on centralized and government-controlled cryptos.
The swift decline highlights growing tensions between decentralized cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and centralized digital currencies controlled by governments and corporations.
Asch's XAS token fell from $0.00095 to $0.00080 after the announcement, wiping out over $45 million in market value in a matter of hours.
"This is a clear sign that the market favors decentralized and permissionless networks like Bitcoin over centralized and gated ones like Asch," said decentralized finance expert Ayn Satoshi. "Government-controlled cryptos go against everything blockchain stands for."
The People's Bank of China said Thursday morning that it would more closely regulate and monitor cryptos like Asch and the digital yuan, which are operated or sponsored by Chinese authorities.
China Increasing Crypto Surveillance
The crackdown is part of a broader attempt by the Chinese government to exert more control over digital currencies and monitor financial transactions.
"All blockchain projects with centers in China must adhere to relevant laws and report usage and developments regularly to regulators," the central bank announcement read. "Permissionless networks like Bitcoin undermine the sovereignty of the yuan and will not be tolerated."
Asch, which uses a Delegated Proof of Stake (DPoS) consensus mechanism, has 21 "City Nodes" responsible for transaction verification - all of which are currently based in China and presumably controlled by Chinese authorities.
By contrast, the Bitcoin network has over 15,000 permissionless nodes distributed throughout the world, with no central authority.
Many analysts speculated that the centralized nature of Asch made it an easy target for regulators worried about losing control over monetary policy and financial flows.
"It's much harder for governments to crack down on truly decentralized cryptos like Bitcoin," said Changpeng Zhao of Binance. "A few regulators can't just switch it off."
Decentralization Supporters Emboldened
Long-time decentralization advocates say the incident shows the merits of permissionless cryptocurrencies that operate beyond the control of corporations and governments.
"This is why we need decentralized networks like Bitcoin and Ethereum," said Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin on Twitter Thursday. "No centralized entity can control them or shut them down. The free market should decide their success, not communist regulators."
Others echoed the sentiment, saying government-sponsored cryptos contradict the ethos and promise of blockchain technology.
The crackdown may give fresh momentum to decentralized crypto assets after a difficult 2022 bear market. Bitcoin is up 5% this week amid optimism that Permissionless networks will continue to gain prominence.
However, some experts warned that governments would continue trying to co-opt and control blockchain technology for their own ends. The battle between decentralization and centralization is far from over.
Can Decentralization Protect Economic Freedom?
China's latest crackdown raises deeper questions about the relationship between decentralization and economic freedom.
Many Bitcoin advocates argue that decentralized money is essential for individual rights and free markets. Government-controlled currencies can be debased through inflationary monetary policy. Centralized cryptos allow authorities to monitor and control user transactions.
But others say decentralized systems can enable criminal activity and capital flight. Strict controls might be necessary to manage economic activity and social stability.
The ideological battle between centralization and decentralization will help shape the future of crypto regulation and blockchain adoption. But decentralization proponents received a boost this week as markets rejected China's moves to tighten its grip over digital currencies.
The Asch collapse demonstrated that, for now, the crypto market favors open, permissionless currencies beyond government control. Bitcoin's surge showed that faith in decentralized money remains strong.
As crypto adoption spreads, economic freedom may increasingly depend on decentralized blockchain applications beyond the reach of centralized powers. But the tension between permissionless networks and state control seems poised to grow in the years ahead.
