Solana beats Bitcoin on one key metric, but a single software bug could still take down the network

ARK Invest and Glassnode have put a new number on blockchain capture risk: the smallest group of block-production entities needed to cross a protocol-relevant control threshold.

Their joint scorecard, published Sept. 1, put the threshold at three entities for Bitcoin and Ethereum and 19 for Solana. The same framework placed Bitcoin first in its composite decentralization ranking. The apparent tension reflects different forms of network exposure. The coalition needed to disrupt consensus is one risk measure; ownership, infrastructure, software, auditability and exit speed describe other routes to pressure a network.

Institutions considering a blockchain as settlement infrastructure must define the failure they need to survive before selecting a metric.

What the 3/3/19 result measures

The report calls the measure a critical resilience threshold. It asks how many of the largest entities must coordinate to pass a concentration point governing block production or voting power.

The inputs change by network. Bitcoin weights hash rate attributed to mining pools. Ethereum and Solana weight stake, while their dashboards may classify a liquid-staking protocol, exchange, distributed validator network, underlying operator or individual validator as the relevant entity. Protocol rules then determine what a given percentage can accomplish.