Blockchain systems run consensus rules as code to agree on the state of the distributed ledger and secure the network. Changing these rules can be risky and challenging. In addition, it can often be controversial and take much effort to make all the necessary participants agree to adopt a change. Arguably, Bitcoin has seen centralisation tendencies in pools and in development. However, how these tendencies influence blockchain governance has received minimal community and academic attention. Our study analyses the governmental structures in a blockchain by looking into the history of Bitcoin. We investigate the process of changing consensus rules through a grounded theory analysis comprising quantitative and qualitative data from 34 consensus forks in Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash. The results reveal the decentralised behaviour in Bitcoin and blockchain. Our results are in contrast to related work, emphasising centralisation among miners and developers. Furthermore, our results show how the consensus-driven deployment techniques and governance of consensus rules are intertwined.

翻译：区块链系统将共识规则以代码形式运行，以达成分布式账本状态的一致并保障网络安全。修改这些规则既存在风险又充满挑战，此外常引发争议，且需耗费大量精力促成所有关键参与者同意接受变更。可以说，比特币在矿池和开发领域已显现中心化趋势。然而，这些趋势如何影响区块链治理，却鲜少受到学界与社区关注。本研究通过追溯比特币发展史，解析区块链治理结构。我们采用扎根理论分析法，基于比特币与比特币现金的34次共识分叉的定量与定性数据，探究共识规则变更过程。研究结果揭示了比特币及区块链中的去中心化行为特征，这与强调矿工与开发者中心化的既有研究形成对比。此外，研究阐明共识驱动的部署技术与共识规则治理之间相互交织的关系。