Decentralization is more than just a key design principle in blockchain technologies; it is a _principle philosophy_ to which many religiously subscribe. Since every blockchain project has varying degrees of decentralization, there are differences between centralized, distributed, and decentralized ledgers. Similarly, all decentralized blockchains can be considered distributed ledger technologies, but not all distributed ledger technologies are decentralized. To be considered decentralized, a distributed ledger technology must meet at least one of the following two criterion: 1. There is no central management, central authority, or single point of failure 2. Anyone with resources/capability can run a node independently such that it is not prohibited or prohibitive Because decentralization enables consensus among untrusted parties (i.e., [[Trustless]] agreement), the second criterion bolsters the first by increasing the _degree of decentralization_. A higher degree of decentralization then prevents collusion, reducing the probability of a [[51% Attack]].