Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Introducing A16Z Crypto

a16zcrypto.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

51–60 of 312 posts

Re: Introducing A16Z Crypto

#51

Post by MBCook »

chrisco255 wrote: post #41
mayank wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> A CRM built in this way might enable multiple "thin clients" to build and an ecosystem to develop around it. Let's parse this. CRM = customer relationship management, usually in the context of sales. The sales relationship is often hard won and closely guarded, because it makes people money. You're proposing putting information about this relationship on a public blockchain (because a "private blockchain" here is j…

I did not say public. Private blockchains are a thing. And it's not just an internal database. They are forkable and potentially run by the customer themselves or in their own AWS private cloud or wherever. But by following the protocol, they could easily switch providers, or integrate several clients that provide different features around the same data. The customer can truly own their data and the side chain can in…

Why would a customer fork their own blockchain?

If it’s not public what’s the point of using a blockchain? How is it not just a secured database?

Databases can be moved between providers. You can choose where/how to interact with them.

Re: Introducing A16Z Crypto

#52

Post by chrisco255 »

CharlesW wrote: post #24
chrisco255 wrote: post #14

I totally agree with A16Z here. Blockchain skepticism is not hard to find on HN and beyond. First, the ecosystem is vast and evolving quickly. If you've "tuned out" by dismissing blockchain, then don't be surprised when your industry gets disrupted in 5-10 years. I think we'll begin to see business logic open-sourced on the blockchain. For example, existing SaaS model incentivizes closed-source, centrally managed rep…

> I think we'll begin to see business logic open-sourced on the blockchain. Business logic is open-sourced now. Why would this matter? > For example, existing SaaS model incentivizes closed-source, centrally managed repositories. How? Nobody would care if a SaaS used a blockchain, assuming that ever makes sense. For users, it's invisible plumbing.

Business logic is not commonly open-sourced for SaaS products. Salesforce, Workday, etc, do they open source their code base? No. Ecosystem, portability and that it's an audited code base will gradually produce benefits that exceed the established SaaS players.

Re: Introducing A16Z Crypto

#53

Post by madeofpalk »

endlessvoid94 wrote: post #29

The skepticism of blockchain technology is borne out of a lack of specific problems it solves. Which happens to also be the bedrock of the conventional startup wisdom -- value derived from solving a problem or exploiting an opportunity. So much of the blockchain hype is focused purely on the technology and the valuation of the tokens / coins. Not the problem it solves. It's distributed trust. That's the problem it so…

> It's distributed trust. That's the problem it solves. It's incredibly cool technology. That solves a specific problem.

That's still not it. "Distributed Trust" isn't a problem, its a trait. What actual problem is solved by distributed trust?

Re: Introducing A16Z Crypto

#54

Post by pedro_hab »

pdpi wrote: post #15

If you’re an insider, there’s a somewhat big technical mistake in there that kind of undermines their credibility. > Blockchain computers are new types of computers where the unique capability is trust between users, developers, and the platform itself. Trusting somebody implies they’re in a position to hurt you, which makes it undesirable in a secure system. Unfortunately, trustless systems tend to be cumbersome and…

I think they meant you trust that the network will compute the transactions properly.

You need to trust that Bitcoin network is strong enough not to be hijacked, as Bitcoin Gold was with the 51% attack earlier this year.

Re: Introducing A16Z Crypto

#55

Post by madeofpalk »

kirbypineapple wrote: post #43
endlessvoid94 wrote: post #29

The skepticism of blockchain technology is borne out of a lack of specific problems it solves. Which happens to also be the bedrock of the conventional startup wisdom -- value derived from solving a problem or exploiting an opportunity. So much of the blockchain hype is focused purely on the technology and the valuation of the tokens / coins. Not the problem it solves. It's distributed trust. That's the problem it so…

I would argue there's value beyond distributed trust: smart contracts (though you could argue that this is merely an application built upon the concept of distributed trust), the tokenization of physical assets (think real estate, oil and gas exploration/drilling/royalties, etc.), and more generally the ability for money to become a "product". These are all domains that blockchain is enabling, though it remains to be…

Again, what problems are being solved?

Real estate, oil and gas exploration/drilling/royalties are all things that have existed without problem for many decades. Saying "real estate, but with blockchain" doesn't actually say what problem you're solving.

Re: Introducing A16Z Crypto

#56

Post by endlessvoid94 »

madeofpalk wrote: post #53
endlessvoid94 wrote: post #29

The skepticism of blockchain technology is borne out of a lack of specific problems it solves. Which happens to also be the bedrock of the conventional startup wisdom -- value derived from solving a problem or exploiting an opportunity. So much of the blockchain hype is focused purely on the technology and the valuation of the tokens / coins. Not the problem it solves. It's distributed trust. That's the problem it so…

> It's distributed trust. That's the problem it solves. It's incredibly cool technology. That solves a specific problem. That's still not it. "Distributed Trust" isn't a problem, its a trait. What actual problem is solved by distributed trust?

You're right, I pointed to the solution instead of the problem. I'm still an engineer at heart, it seems!

What should I have said instead? Centralization of data? Unreliability of single-points-of-failure?

Re: Introducing A16Z Crypto

#57

Post by 67_45 »

This just strikes me as wrong. His chain of logic does not lead to distributed ledgers. Mainframes, PC's, iPhone, distributed ledgers? Before I dive in I must say that the new trend for people to use blockchain as a noun describing the underlying system of Bitcoin and other coins is highly annoying and cringey. None the less, blockchain is not a peice of technology. It's a contract backed up by probablity and the nature of the internet. The contract is a big lumbering thing that has a life of it's own -- for each implementation of this "tech" you are stuck with that beast which, if you are even able to get enough people to feed it, will fluctuate wildly in many capacities before eventually dying. It's not like a new mems accelerometer where once it's out you can now just pump out thousands of units. The nature of Bitcoin (i refuse to use the blockchain noun) lends itself much more to being a global complement to centrally managed monetary systems (or stand on it's own as the world's currency, but I don't think that would be optimal).

Re: Introducing A16Z Crypto

#58

Post by endlessvoid94 »

slg wrote: post #49
endlessvoid94 wrote: post #29

The skepticism of blockchain technology is borne out of a lack of specific problems it solves. Which happens to also be the bedrock of the conventional startup wisdom -- value derived from solving a problem or exploiting an opportunity. So much of the blockchain hype is focused purely on the technology and the valuation of the tokens / coins. Not the problem it solves. It's distributed trust. That's the problem it so…

It is just the next round of the "Uber for X". Little attention is paid specifically to what that technology and business model provide. We end up getting hundreds of startups that use the buzzword to secure funding but quickly flame out when they realize that the advantages don't really matter to their specific market. However that doesn't mean there are not viable "Uber for X" or blockain business ideas out there.

Totally fair point. It's especially great for the investment world -- especially VC, which only needs one billion-dollar exit to make a return. So this makes sense!

Re: Introducing A16Z Crypto

#59

Post by [deleted] »

chrisco255 wrote: post #52
CharlesW wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I think we'll begin to see business logic open-sourced on the blockchain. Business logic is open-sourced now. Why would this matter? > For example, existing SaaS model incentivizes closed-source, centrally managed repositories. How? Nobody would care if a SaaS used a blockchain, assuming that ever makes sense. For users, it's invisible plumbing.

Business logic is not commonly open-sourced for SaaS products. Salesforce, Workday, etc, do they open source their code base? No. Ecosystem, portability and that it's an audited code base will gradually produce benefits that exceed the established SaaS players.

[deleted]

Re: Introducing A16Z Crypto

#60

Post by [deleted] »

endlessvoid94 wrote: post #56
madeofpalk wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> It's distributed trust. That's the problem it solves. It's incredibly cool technology. That solves a specific problem. That's still not it. "Distributed Trust" isn't a problem, its a trait. What actual problem is solved by distributed trust?

You're right, I pointed to the solution instead of the problem. I'm still an engineer at heart, it seems! What should I have said instead? Centralization of data? Unreliability of single-points-of-failure?

[deleted]
Post reply on HN