Who Controls Ethereum?

If you are a proud user of Ethereum (ETH) or its native blockchain platform, you may be wondering who really controls Ethereum and is there a mastermind pulling the strings in this case? The question is not without merit, but even those that are...

If you are a proud user of Ethereum (ETH) or its native blockchain platform, you may be wondering who really controls Ethereum and is there a mastermind pulling the strings in this case? The question is not without merit, but even those that are at least marginally familiar with what
Ethereum really is would laugh at the words “control” and Ethereum in the same sentence.

So, answering the question of who controls Ethereum brings us to the original purpose of both this cryptocurrency and its blockchain platform: decentralization. Ethereum is not really controlled by anyone, in the sense that there is no omnipotent entity or a conspirator running it from the shadows. Ethereum exists solely through the participation and work of the community of its users and developers. They are, collectively, referred to as the Ethereum network. But, who controls the Ethereum network, you may ask? The answer is the same as for Ethereum itself: nobody controls it, as it is a genuinely decentralized platform which was originally built by crowdsourcing the work of a community of programmers. Once the code and network infrastructure were in place, the network itself was handed over to all the users who wanted to participate in it.

Yet, what about the Ethereum Foundation, is its head the person who controls Ethereum after all? Once more, the answer is negative, as this organization serves only to support and promote the Ethereum platform, with no stake in running the network itself. The same goes for the inventor of Ethereum, Vitalik Buterin who surely has an interest in the operation of Ethereum, yet without the ambition or capacity to “control” it. Finally, this is who controls Ethereum in reality: it is the community of its users whose resources and commitment keep the ETH alive and expanding.