Governance
Breaking the centralised choke point: Why IP addresses must be decentralised
The current centralised IP address governance poses threats to connectivity and neutrality, argues Lu Heng’s latest analysis.
Headline
The current centralised IP address governance poses threats to connectivity and neutrality, argues Lu Heng’s latest analysis.
Context
“The Internet has been steadily moving toward decentralisation for decades. From infrastructure to applications, from blockchain to Web3, almost every layer is reducing single points of control. Yet one critical layer remains stubbornly centralised: names and numbers—domain names and IP addresses. This is not a philosophical issue but a structural risk. Any centralised choke point can be captured, politicised, or abused, and when that happens, the Internet fragments.” ——Lu Heng, CEO at Cloud Innovation, CEO at LARUS Ltd, Founder of LARUS Foundation.
Evidence
Pending intelligence enrichment.
Analysis
Lu Heng, CEO of LARUS Limited and founder of the LARUS Foundation , highlights a critical vulnerability in the way the Internet’s identifiers — specifically domain names and IP addresses — are governed. While many layers of the modern Internet have embraced decentralisation through technologies such as blockchain and Web3, the mechanisms that allocate and register core identifiers remain firmly centralised under the oversight of Regional Internet Registries (RIRs). Heng explains that this centralised regime, a legacy from the early days of the Internet when decentralised technologies did not exist, introduces a structural risk. If the institutions responsible for maintaining these registries act improperly, come under political influence, or become compromised, they can disrupt connectivity, undermine neutrality, and erode trust in the global network. This fragility is not theoretical; recent governance challenges at multiple registries underscore its reality. Also Read: Data sovereignty’s practical reality: Why law matters more than localisation At the heart of Heng’s critique is the distinction between the commercial markets that have developed around IP addresses and the underlying system of ownership and control. He notes that markets for addresses already exist, but the governance structure leaves network operators subject to central authorities with limited remedies. A decentralised model, wherein each network securely controls its own registrations, would eliminate the single point of control that makes the system susceptible to abuse.
Key Points
- Lu Heng argues that the current centralised control of IP addresses and domain names poses structural risks to the global Internet.
- A decentralised model, where each network controls its own identifiers, enhances resilience without sacrificing stability.
Actions
Pending intelligence enrichment.
