比特幣正在失去去中心化嗎？

美國批准比特幣現貨交易所交易基金（ETF）受到了業內許多人的熱情歡迎

The approval of Bitcoin spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in the United States has been met with enthusiasm by much of the industry, but it has also sparked a debate about their implications for decentralization, one of the pillars on which Satoshi Nakamoto, the creator of Bitcoin, founded the cryptocurrency.

比特幣現貨交易所交易基金（ETF）在美國的批准受到了業內許多人的熱情歡迎，但這也引發了關於其對去中心化影響的爭論，而去中心化是中本聰（Satoshi Nakamoto）的支柱之一。

ETFs allow investors to access Bitcoin without having to acquire it directly, which has opened the door to a new wave of institutional capital. However, this development could be in conflict with its original philosophy, which seeks a decentralized financial alternative, without the intervention of third parties.

ETF允許投資者無需直接購買即可獲得比特幣，這為新一波機構資本打開了大門。然而，這種發展可能與其最初的理念相衝突，即尋求一種去中心化的金融替代方案，而無需第三方的干預。

Bitcoin's birth over a decade ago was marked by the promise to eliminate the need to trust or relegate functions to intermediaries, meaning users could control their own funds without depending on banks or financial institutions. The mining-based incentive system, with its Proof of Work model, was designed to guarantee an open, accessible, and secure network where control was distributed among participants and not in the hands of a central entity.

比特幣十多年前誕生的標誌是承諾消除信任或將功能委託給中介機構的需要，這意味著用戶可以在不依賴銀行或金融機構的情況下控制自己的資金。基於挖礦的激勵系統及其工作量證明模型旨在確保一個開放、可訪問且安全的網絡，其中控制權分佈在參與者之間，而不是掌握在中央實體手中。

Satoshi Nakamoto, when writing the Bitcoin manifesto, explicitly made clear the intention to create a currency that would break away from traditional systems, centered around banks and governments.

中本聰在撰寫比特幣宣言時，明確表示要創造一種脫離以銀行和政府為中心的傳統體系的貨幣。

The emergence of Bitcoin ETFs, while not directly altering the network’s technical structure, introduces a level of intermediation that goes against the idea of financial autonomy. By investing in these products, participants do not own the cryptocurrency directly, but rather buy a share in a fund that tracks the price of BTC.

比特幣 ETF 的出現雖然沒有直接改變網路的技術結構，但引入了一定程度的中介，這違背了財務自治的概念。透過投資這些產品，參與者不會直接擁有加密貨幣，而是購買追蹤比特幣價格的基金的份額。

This model moves away from the essence under which cryptocurrencies were conceived, as transactions and asset custody depend on centralized entities like exchanges and custodians such as Coinbase. This could lead to large institutions, rather than users, controlling large amounts of Bitcoin, creating risks of power concentration in a few hands.

這種模式背離了加密貨幣的本質，因為交易和資產託管依賴於交易所和 Coinbase 等託管機構等中心化實體。這可能導致大型機構而不是用戶控制大量比特幣，從而造成權力集中在少數人手中的風險。

It is important to note that ETFs do not directly affect the Bitcoin network or its technical functioning. Transactions of buying and selling shares do not require blockchain operations, so they do not generate congestion or increase transaction fees. However, the easy access to BTC for institutional investors could drive the price of the cryptocurrency up, which, while benefiting miners, could also lead to a market dominated by a few players.

值得注意的是，ETF 不會直接影響比特幣網路或其技術功能。買賣股票的交易不需要區塊鏈操作，因此不會產生擁擠或增加交易費用。然而，機構投資者輕鬆獲得比特幣可能會推高加密貨幣的價格，這在有利於礦工的同時，也可能導致市場由少數參與者主導。

The dilemma of ETFs is clear: they may provide a new adoption avenue for Bitcoin, but it could come at the cost of the decentralization inherent to its design. Satoshi envisioned a network that eliminated intermediaries, but with ETFs, cryptocurrencies could be returning to a centralized model, where control does not rest with users but with traditional institutions. Therefore, in their effort to popularize and stabilize the market, they could be altering the philosophical foundations on which BTC and subsequent cryptocurrencies were conceived.

ETF 的困境很明顯：它們可能為比特幣提供新的採用途徑，但這可能會以犧牲其設計固有的去中心化為代價。中本聰設想了一個消除中介機構的網絡，但透過 ETF，加密貨幣可能會回歸中心化模式，其中控制權不在於用戶，而在於傳統機構。因此，在他們努力普及和穩定市場的過程中，他們可能會改變比特幣和隨後的加密貨幣的哲學基礎。

However, not everything is negative. It is also true that ETFs could help professionalize the crypto industry, driving the adoption of blockchain technologies by larger companies and consolidating the market in a safer and more regulated environment. Moreover, the institutionalization of BTC has led to a significant increase in the cryptocurrency’s price, as many financial groups have funneled large capital injections from investors who expected a more suitable regulatory framework.

然而，並非一切都是負面的。 ETF 確實可以幫助加密貨幣產業專業化，推動大公司採用區塊鏈技術，並在更安全、更規範的環境中鞏固市場。此外，比特幣的製度化導致了加密貨幣價格的大幅上漲，因為許多金融集團從期望更合適的監管框架的投資者那裡注入了大量資金。

While centralization must be closely monitored by the entire community, it is also possible that the process of integration with the traditional financial system will offer greater legitimacy and trust to new users. The key will be to find a balance where institutional adoption does not hinder the decentralized essence of Bitcoin, but responsibly complements it.

雖然中心化必須受到整個社區的密切監控，但與傳統金融系統的整合過程也有可能為新用戶提供更大的合法性和信任。關鍵是找到一種平衡，使機構採用不會阻礙比特幣的去中心化本質，而是負責任地補充它。