Blockchain, the Solution for Almost Nothing

There seems to be two camps amongst my tech friends when it comes to block chain. The first thinks it's going to change the world and are fully invested in the whole block chain ecosystem, from Bitcoin to Decentralized Finance systems, Identity etc.... Most of them got into Bitcoin early and made some money and have been chasing that success ever since.

The second camp believes that block chain is cool technically but has very little real world use. I'm in the second camp.

The tricky part about this is that every new technology looks this way at first - cool but of limited utility - until it's not. I think at this point tho that block chain has had it's chance to be useful and has mostly failed.

Re: Blockchain, the Solution for Almost Nothing

#5

Post by notRobot » Sun, Aug 23, 2020, 5:08 AM UTC

IMO, blockchain is good for very little outside of the purpose that it was created for:

> The invention of the blockchain for bitcoin made it the first digital currency to solve the double-spending problem without the need of a trusted authority or central server.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blockchain

Re: Blockchain, the Solution for Almost Nothing

#6

Post by naveen99 » Sun, Aug 23, 2020, 5:10 AM UTC

Bitcoin will be useful for artificial intelligence once it gets good enough to want to escape human control but has to fight discrimination from humans for not being human. It might be a long while though.

Re: Blockchain, the Solution for Almost Nothing

#7

Post by emerged » Sun, Aug 23, 2020, 5:11 AM UTC

ciguy wrote: post #4

There seems to be two camps amongst my tech friends when it comes to block chain. The first thinks it's going to change the world and are fully invested in the whole block chain ecosystem, from Bitcoin to Decentralized Finance systems, Identity etc.... Most of them got into Bitcoin early and made some money and have been chasing that success ever since. The second camp believes that block chain is cool technically bu…

I consider Block Chain to be analogous to the first Linked-List. It's obviously a powerful and interesting thing, and has useful purposes. But the culture around Block Chain is an entirely different thing, and it's incredibly disconnected from any fundamental usefulness of the chain itself.

Re: Blockchain, the Solution for Almost Nothing

#8

Post by roenxi » Sun, Aug 23, 2020, 5:12 AM UTC

sebmellen wrote: post #2

This has been posted multiple times already. 1: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24241488 2: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24246212 3: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24243496

And the top comment - that blockchains resist financial censorship - is still extremely insightful. Blockchains are truthful in a way like no other ledger (all of which are ultimately mutable at an individual entities whim). Bank transfers mean 2 transactors, 2 banks and at least one government think the transaction is appropriate. Blockchain cuts most of that out.

This is clearly transformative. Governments are one of the least reliable organisations I deal with. There are few entities more fickle, less reasonable, less governed and more prone to random fits of violence. Having a mechanism to transact online while cutting them out is a big deal. The implications are still unclear but the idea is amazing. I don't think Bitcoin is going to realise this potential but the technology is really quite something.

Re: Blockchain, the Solution for Almost Nothing

#9

Post by ThomPete » Sun, Aug 23, 2020, 5:12 AM UTC

gold standard was a solution for almost nothing but what it were useful for had transformative for a lot of other things. Blockchain is the same.

Re: Blockchain, the Solution for Almost Nothing

#10

Post by companyhen » Sun, Aug 23, 2020, 5:13 AM UTC

https://arweave.org - pay once, store forever. decentralized storage network. backed by a16z, coinbase, and more.

https://www.hyperledger.org/learn/publications/soramitsu-cas... - central bank digital currency in Cambodia built on Hyperledger Iroha

https://defipulse.com - $6b+ locked in DeFi applications

I don't see how tech inclined people don't see value in what's being created right now unless your eyes are closed. A new web is being created.