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You Do Not Need Blockchain: Popular Use Cases and Why They Do Not Work

blog.smartdec.net

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Re: You Do Not Need Blockchain: Popular Use Cases and Why They Do Not Work

#241

Post by smokeyj »

AnthonyMouse wrote: post #231
hn_throwaway_99 wrote: post #179

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Still though, in this scenario, (and which is why I think smart contracts themselves are waaaaaaay oversold) is that most real-world contracts deal with real-world things: e.g. you will deliver a set of goods, at a specified level of quality, at a set time. But as the author points out so well (I really like his "Blockchain is not IOT" mantra) once you're dealing with real-world objects, you are relying on an oracle…

There is no question that there is excessive hype. But not being good for everything isn't the same as being good for nothing.

What does a republic get you that a dictatorship couldn't do more efficiently?

I did it guys. I'm finally enlightened.

Re: You Do Not Need Blockchain: Popular Use Cases and Why They Do Not Work

#242

Post by pjc50 »

14 wrote: post #175
gregschlom wrote: post #33

I've said this several times before on this site but will keep repeating it: there's exactly one use case where the blockchain is a superior (and, in fact, the only) solution: when you can't use contracts and the legal system to ensure trust between the parties. In other words, anything illegal. For any other conceivable use case, a database and a contract between parties are a superior solution. Edit: To clarify wha…

well if I had bitcoin and my government decided to declare our money or the current dollar in fashion worthless my bitcoin could still retain its value despite what the dollar is doing. To say the only use is something illegal is short sited in my opinion.

On the other hand, the worth of bitcoin in terms of actual goods and services fluctuates wildly for no reason at all.

(The collapse of the dollar is the least likely financial crisis to worry about in the present day.)

Re: You Do Not Need Blockchain: Popular Use Cases and Why They Do Not Work

#243

Post by twic »

tempestn wrote: post #76

Can someone explain this line to me? "Is it a good idea to put a hash of student diploma digitally signed by several professors on Bitcoin blockchain? Yes." How exactly would one do that? Is the idea to send a tiny transaction to a made-up wallet, with your hash embedded in the wallet id? Seems like it would need to be pretty small, and would be somewhat of an abuse of the system. Or if that's not it, what exactly is…

Why does the signed hash need to be on a blockchain? Why not on the university's website? Or on some national or international clearinghouse's website, or all three and more.

The hash is already signed, then so as long as you can trust the keys used to sign it (a problem not solved by blockchain), then you can get it from anywhere, any untrusted source, because the trustability is inherent in the object itself.

Re: You Do Not Need Blockchain: Popular Use Cases and Why They Do Not Work

#244

Post by notahacker »

oarabbus_ wrote: post #156
gregschlom wrote: post #80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm not saying: you don't need the blockchain because you shouldn't be doing bad things. I'm saying: you need the blockchain if and only if you are doing things that are illegal in your country. It's a decision criteria for when you need the blockchain. I'm making no moral judgement. And there are very good reasons to want to do things that your government deems illegal (for example, donating to a political organizat…

>I'm saying: you need the blockchain if and only if you are doing things that are illegal in your country. It's a decision criteria for when you need the blockchain. This is, at face value, simply false. I want to send $5 to a poor African family. I'll even relax my criteria - I'm willing to wait _up to 3 business days_ for this African family to receive my $5. I live in California. Could you please point me towards…

Western Union will do it in minutes, and I've actually used it to send myself money in Africa in lieu of better options when having bankcard issues (turnaround time <1 hour including finding the agent, fee ~5%). Admittedly the transaction fee on a transaction as small as $5 is pretty steep (20%!), but they're getting spendable cash for it, and I doubt the average family in Africa is getting a better deal when asking the local computer expert if he'll give local banknotes in exchange for their satoshis...

Re: You Do Not Need Blockchain: Popular Use Cases and Why They Do Not Work

#245

Post by twic »

Zaskoda wrote: post #132

I've recently been thinking about a blockchain use case that I have not seen mentioned: security. It seems like log obfuscation is a common tactic used to cover tracks after a break in. Thus it seems like a blockchain could be used in a logging system so that a falsified log would trigger an alert.

systemd's log subsystem has been doing exactly that since 2012:

https://lwn.net/Articles/512895/

Although here's a detail i didn't know:

The algorithm for FSS is based on "Forward Secure Pseudo Random Generators" (FSPRG), which comes from some post-doctoral research by Poettering's brother Bertram.

So that's just peachy.

Re: You Do Not Need Blockchain: Popular Use Cases and Why They Do Not Work

#246

Post by kosievdmerwe »

AnthonyMouse wrote: post #137
gregschlom wrote: post #33

I've said this several times before on this site but will keep repeating it: there's exactly one use case where the blockchain is a superior (and, in fact, the only) solution: when you can't use contracts and the legal system to ensure trust between the parties. In other words, anything illegal. For any other conceivable use case, a database and a contract between parties are a superior solution. Edit: To clarify wha…

> In other words, anything illegal. Not exactly. It's anything for which the legal system is not effective. For example, you can have a perfectly legal contract, but the other party is in a corrupt foreign jurisdiction that would never find in your favor in the event of a breach. Then you can't contract with them because they have no incentive not to breach, without an alternative method of ensuring compliance that d…

If you have a digital system that can handle disputes (by dispensing penalties say), how will it handle the other party lying about what happened in the real world? How would the other party handle you lying about what happened in the real world?

Re: You Do Not Need Blockchain: Popular Use Cases and Why They Do Not Work

#247

Post by dmitriid »

scoopitywoop wrote: post #226
dragontamer wrote: post #221

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Nifty trick! Unfortunately, it doesn't generalize to BTC / USD (or other fiat currency), which is probably the bigger exchange that most people use. ---------- The second issue is that BTC / ETH prices can change dramatically. Set your timer too long: and your opponent can use time to take advantage of the trade... only executing it when the BTC/ETH exchange floats towards their favor. Because BTC / ETH prices vary d…

This is what stablecoins are for, such as USDT, TUSD, etc. I'm sure you'll bring up the point that you still need exchanges for USD -> stablecoin. You can alternatively use crypto ATMs, or trade with someone you know.

There’s no reality in which the scam commonly known as Tether is a stablecoin.

Re: You Do Not Need Blockchain: Popular Use Cases and Why They Do Not Work

#248

Post by woah »

AndrewKemendo wrote: post #74
treis wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I think most uses can be solved by a simple database hosted by a trusted authority People say this in every blockchain related thing that pops up on HN but it excludes literally the only legitimate use case for a blockchain. That being the scenario where you don't have or don't want to rely on a trusted authority.

If you can't find or mutually organize a trusted authority you have much bigger problems than what technology to choose.

What?

Re: You Do Not Need Blockchain: Popular Use Cases and Why They Do Not Work

#249

Post by notahacker »

smokeyj wrote: post #241
AnthonyMouse wrote: post #231

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There is no question that there is excessive hype. But not being good for everything isn't the same as being good for nothing.

What does a republic get you that a dictatorship couldn't do more efficiently? I did it guys. I'm finally enlightened.

> What does a republic get you that a dictatorship couldn't do more efficiently?

We're wayyyy off on a tangent here, but the removal of an unpopular leader from office...

Re: You Do Not Need Blockchain: Popular Use Cases and Why They Do Not Work

#250

Post by dragonwriter »

smokeyj wrote: post #241
AnthonyMouse wrote: post #231

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There is no question that there is excessive hype. But not being good for everything isn't the same as being good for nothing.

What does a republic get you that a dictatorship couldn't do more efficiently? I did it guys. I'm finally enlightened.

Republics and dictatorships are overlapping sets; in fact the instance of the latter from which the term derives was a designed-in temporary state of one of the best-known ancient examples of the former.

You probably meant something like “democratic republic” or the not-quite-equivalent “representative democracy” instead of bare “republic”.

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