Can a Blockchain Be Censored Permanently?

The blockchains is the architecture of resistance, the technology that promises to give you total freedom from censorship. In today’s world, where the government has more control than ever over the financial institutions, the promise of an immutable, permissionless ledger is revolutionary. However, as the ecosystem grows, a critical question arises: can a blockchain be censored permanently?

The Architecture of Resistance

Decentralization is the feature of blockchains that makes it censorship-resistant. It is the protocol that allows building a shared network across hundreds of thousands of nodes across the world to host the same data, as opposed to centralized servers that host data in one database. This decentralized nature of the blockchain helps get rid of the “off switch” that comes with centralization. So turning off a blockchain would require turning off 100s of thousands of nodes around the world at the same time, which is a nearly impossible task.  Another way to censor the blockchain is a malicious attack that gains a majority stake on the network and overrides the consensus mechanism to censor all transactions on the chain. 

The government could theoretically ban mining of crypto and block IP addresses associated with node communication, but the borderless nature of the internet allows the network to persist. The blockchains will live on as long as two participants can exchange data, whether via satellite, mesh networks, or encrypted tunnels

Centralized Choke Points

While a blockchain itself might be almost impossible to censor, it is possible to censor the platforms that many users use to interact with it, like Centralized exchanges (CEXs) such as Binance. CEXs act as custodians for users’ wallets, so if the government shuts down the exchange or requests it censor specific users permanently, the users lose access to their wallet address on the blockchains forever. In this scenario, the censorship is done at the gateway, not the ledger level. 

The Threat of “Soft” Censorship

While it is impossible for even the government to shut down a blockchain forever, some have employed “soft censorship” that involves regulations to ensure validators filter specific transactions that do not comply with government sanctions. If 51% of the network decides to obey this request, the sanctioned users are effectively banned from the blockchains as they cannot use their wallet address anymore. 

Frequently Asked Questions

Disclaimer: BFM Times acts as a source of information for knowledge purposes and does not claim to be a financial advisor. Kindly consult your financial advisor before investing.