If we only stay at the judgment of "21 nodes being very centralized", it actually feels a bit empty. What really needs to be focused on is the data.
First, let's look at the structure itself.
#Plasma The current DAC consists of 21 nodes, which is a deliberately designed number: small enough to ensure sorting and data publishing efficiency; but large enough to avoid single point failure. In comparison, the EOS mainnet also has 21 BPs, and BSC's validators have long remained stable in the range of 21–41. In payment chains, this is not an outlier.
Next, let's examine the degree of power concentration.
According to on-chain monitoring data, the block production rights are not evenly distributed:
The top 7 nodes,
#DAC , account for over 60% of the block submission frequency, while the remaining nodes mainly take on backup and data distribution roles. This means that once a few nodes coordinate, they do indeed have the ability to impact data availability in the short term.
However, checks and balances are not nonexistent.
Currently,
$XPL more than half are in staking or time lock status, and the DAC nodes themselves are also major stakers—this means their cost of misbehavior is not just "reputational risk", but real financial lock-up risk. At the same time, the exit mechanism of Plasma still exists: in extreme situations, users can still challenge or exit back to a higher security layer, even at the cost of time.
So the issue is not simply "guardian or oligarch".
The more realistic answer given by the data is:
Plasma chooses a governance model of "efficiency first, with economic constraints as a backup".
In the short term, it does resemble a highly coordinated settlement alliance;
But as long as DAC members can be rotated, staking can be punished, and the right to exit is not deprived, these 21 nodes are more like power tethered by the market, rather than unrestrained new oligarchs.
There is only one real risk point:
When the growth rate of on-chain data begins to exceed the governance evolution speed of the DAC.
On that day, the market will give an answer faster than any white paper.
@Plasma #plasma