Explaining Blockchains to Developers • Hacker News Board

Re: Explaining Blockchains to Developers

#41

Post by carlosrg » Fri, Jul 09, 2021, 4:42 PM UTC

goodpoint wrote: post #33

imglorp wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Right, there are two groups and you have to figure out which group you're talking to. One group sees new, distributed consensus data structures with unique properties that can advance civilization. They're out there; I've met them and they're doing good work. The other group are pure crooks and speculators willing to burn everything to the ground as long as they get theirs. But they wear a cute face and tell a flashy…

The first group is small and it feels like it's thinning as cryptocurrencies fail to prove beneficial to humanity. I'm referring to the promises of 1) giving access to banking to people in the global south 2) giving financial stability to people facing unsustainable inflation 3) doing that while not destroying the environment

Migrant workers used Bitcoin during the pandemic to transfer money to relatives in their origin countries without the need of a third party. I’d consider that beneficial to humanity, but your definition of beneficial might be different to mine.

https://restofworld.org/2021/crypto-remittances/

Re: Explaining Blockchains to Developers

#42

Post by koheripbal » Fri, Jul 09, 2021, 5:02 PM UTC

pluc wrote: post #24

"I can't understand why more developers aren't into blockchain and fintech startups here, let me post an article explaining it!" It ain't the tech, it's the people.

well... it's also the tech. The tech isn't ready yet.

There are no truly decentralized scalable blockchains right now. None.

Re: Explaining Blockchains to Developers

#43

Post by m00dy » Fri, Jul 09, 2021, 5:24 PM UTC

korbdo wrote: post #25

emerged wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Alternatively, your 60 year old dad may have developed enough common sense in his years to sense the blockchain is largely an over hyped snake oil.

Agreed on "blockchain", which as been spun by marketers into a a snake oil for everything. The comment you're responding to referenced a lack of understanding of POW and doubles pending, which has are specific to Bitcoin, not blockchain.

double spending is related to consensus algorithm which is not specific to Bitcoin

Re: Explaining Blockchains to Developers

#44

Post by goodpoint » Fri, Jul 09, 2021, 6:56 PM UTC

carlosrg wrote: post #41

goodpoint wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The first group is small and it feels like it's thinning as cryptocurrencies fail to prove beneficial to humanity. I'm referring to the promises of 1) giving access to banking to people in the global south 2) giving financial stability to people facing unsustainable inflation 3) doing that while not destroying the environment

Migrant workers used Bitcoin during the pandemic to transfer money to relatives in their origin countries without the need of a third party. I’d consider that beneficial to humanity, but your definition of beneficial might be different to mine. https://restofworld.org/2021/crypto-remittances/

Occasional feel-good stories might not be enough to balance all the complaints around energy consumption and money laundering.

> your definition of beneficial might be different to mine

It's not my own: I'm trying to summarize the promises that were often made, together with cheap and fast money transfers, ease of use, better security, and many more.