DINO =
Decentralized In Name Only: A pejorative term for crypto projects that claim to be
decentralized but, in reality, operate with centralized power dynamics. These projects often exhibit signs of centralization, such as a significant premine favoring insiders, decision-making power resting with a small group or a single individual, and a potential for shutdown by these parties. Such projects often boast supposed improvements over
Bitcoin's energy efficiency, transaction speed, or scalability, appealing to naive investors. However, these "advancements" come with trade-offs leading to centralization. They may also be designed in a way that inadvertently leads to centralization, such as having bloated blockchains or adopting Proof-of-Stake, which discourage average users from running nodes, causing reliance on centralized services like Infura in
Ethereum's case.
Example:
"Just went through their
whitepaper, it's pretty clear that it's a
DINO. Too much control in the hands of a few."
"Bro,
Solana servers are down for the 10th time this year. What a DINO."