In a pointed essay titled “Let’s Build Open Highways, Not Railroads,” Stellar Development Foundation CEO Denelle Dixon has warned that the blockchain industry risks repeating historical monopolies if private companies continue building closed, vertically integrated networks.
Dixon drew a parallel between the railroad monopolies of the 1880s and the emerging field of corporate-controlled blockchains.
“We’re watching private companies build their own railroad tracks—open today, but built in a way that lets them decide tomorrow whether anyone else’s trains can use them,” she wrote. “The difference this time? We still have a choice.”
Her remarks follow a wave of announcements from major financial and payment firms—both public and private — developing proprietary blockchains and issuing stablecoins.
Dixon argues that these trends threaten to create centralized chokepoints in the global financial system, mirroring how early internet and transport monopolies once constrained technological development and access.
Lessons from the Past: Railroads to Browsers
Dixon compared the development of blockchain infrastructure to the early struggles for openness in the tech and transport sectors. She recalled how, in the late 19th century, U.S. farmers were at the mercy of railroad barons who controlled both routes and pricing.
Later, during her time at Mozilla, she witnessed similar patterns in the digital realm when Microsoft’s Internet Explorer dominated web access.
“Firefox eventually captured 30% market share not because we outspent Microsoft—we couldn’t—but because we built something better and gave users what they’d lost: real choice,” she wrote.
Transparency, open standards, and user trust, she added, were what made the open web flourish—values now at risk in blockchain’s next chapter.
The Stakes for Blockchain and Finance
According to Dixon, the danger is no longer hypothetical. Financial heavyweights like Coinbase, JPMorgan, and Stripe have already built or announced proprietary blockchain platforms.
While these projects bring valuable innovation and liquidity, Dixon cautioned that shareholder-driven incentives can easily lead to control over fees, access, and data.
“When private entities control financial infrastructure, they don’t just facilitate transactions—they make the rules,” she warned. “Blockchain promised to eliminate these tollbooths, not rebuild them.”
Stellar, by contrast, promotes open, permissionless networks where no single entity can censor or extract disproportionate value. On Stellar, Dixon noted, cross-border transactions cost “a fraction of a fraction of a cent,” compared with 6.35% on traditional rails.
A Closing Window of Choice
Dixon urged developers, policymakers, and institutions to act before it’s too late. “The architecture choices we make today will shape financial infrastructure for decades,” she said.
Her message is ultimately one of urgency and optimism: blockchain’s future can still be open, interoperable, and inclusive—if builders choose collaboration over control.
“Let’s build highways—open to everyone, owned by no one,” Dixon concludes.
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