Key Takeaways
- • ARK Invest and Glassnode released a joint study ranking Bitcoin as the most decentralized major blockchain, followed by Ethereum and Solana, based on measurable dimensions including auditability, ownership distribution, and geographical resilience.
- • Bitcoin's critical control threshold requires coordination among three mining pools—Foundry USA (27.27%), AntPool (17.06%), and F2Pool (16.96%)—which collectively exceed 51% of total hash power, though researchers emphasize this does not indicate actual network control.
- • Ethereum's Proof-of-Stake mechanism establishes a 33% critical threshold, requiring three staking organizations to coordinate to reach this level, maintaining similar centralization risk architecture to Bitcoin despite different consensus mechanisms.
- • Solana demonstrates superior resistance to collusion with a Nakamoto coefficient of 19, meaning 19 independent organizations must coordinate to reach critical thresholds, substantially outperforming Bitcoin and Ethereum's three-entity requirement.
- • The study highlights fundamental design differences across the three networks: Bitcoin leads in auditability and ownership distribution, while Solana's architecture requires higher coordination barriers despite lower overall decentralization scores in other measured dimensions.
Summary
A comprehensive joint investigation by ARK Invest and Glassnode examining the decentralization characteristics of Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana has produced significant findings regarding network resilience and collusion risk. The research maps each blockchain across four design features and six measurable dimensions of decentralization, providing institutional investors with quantifiable data on network security architecture.
The study reveals critical vulnerabilities in both Bitcoin and Ethereum's consensus mechanisms. For Bitcoin, the analysis identifies three mining pools—Foundry USA, AntPool, and F2Pool—collectively controlling 51.29% of total hash power as of 2026. This concentration means only three independent actors would need to coordinate to reach the network's critical control threshold. Ethereum presents a parallel risk structure under its Proof-of-Stake model, where three major staking organizations control sufficient stake to surpass the 33% critical threshold required to influence block production. Crucially, researchers underscore that threshold metrics do not constitute evidence of actual network control, but rather represent structural vulnerabilities should coordination occur.
Solana's architecture demonstrates materially different decentralization characteristics, requiring 19 independent organizations to coordinate to achieve critical control thresholds. This substantially higher Nakamoto coefficient indicates greater practical resistance to collusion attacks compared to the three-entity models found in Bitcoin and Ethereum. The study positions Solana as exhibiting stronger structural barriers against consensus capture, though ARK and Glassnode rank Bitcoin as the most decentralized overall when evaluating broader factors including auditability, geographical resilience, and ownership distribution.
The findings carry implications for institutional investors assessing blockchain security and long-term network potential. The research suggests that while Bitcoin commands the highest decentralization rating across multiple dimensions, all three networks exhibit concentration risk at specific architectural points. The study reflects design trade-offs inherent to different consensus mechanisms and scaling philosophies, with Ethereum and Bitcoin prioritizing other network properties despite higher collusion vulnerability, while Solana emphasizes validator distribution and coordination barriers.
The study reveals critical vulnerabilities in both Bitcoin and Ethereum's consensus mechanisms. For Bitcoin, the analysis identifies three mining pools—Foundry USA, AntPool, and F2Pool—collectively controlling 51.29% of total hash power as of 2026. This concentration means only three independent actors would need to coordinate to reach the network's critical control threshold. Ethereum presents a parallel risk structure under its Proof-of-Stake model, where three major staking organizations control sufficient stake to surpass the 33% critical threshold required to influence block production. Crucially, researchers underscore that threshold metrics do not constitute evidence of actual network control, but rather represent structural vulnerabilities should coordination occur.
Solana's architecture demonstrates materially different decentralization characteristics, requiring 19 independent organizations to coordinate to achieve critical control thresholds. This substantially higher Nakamoto coefficient indicates greater practical resistance to collusion attacks compared to the three-entity models found in Bitcoin and Ethereum. The study positions Solana as exhibiting stronger structural barriers against consensus capture, though ARK and Glassnode rank Bitcoin as the most decentralized overall when evaluating broader factors including auditability, geographical resilience, and ownership distribution.
The findings carry implications for institutional investors assessing blockchain security and long-term network potential. The research suggests that while Bitcoin commands the highest decentralization rating across multiple dimensions, all three networks exhibit concentration risk at specific architectural points. The study reflects design trade-offs inherent to different consensus mechanisms and scaling philosophies, with Ethereum and Bitcoin prioritizing other network properties despite higher collusion vulnerability, while Solana emphasizes validator distribution and coordination barriers.
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