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What Problem Blockchains Solve

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Re: What Problem Blockchains Solve

#31

Post by lmm »

edgyquant wrote: post #3

Could it potentially be used to keep a distributed database of information collected by a large array of satellites orbiting something like the sun? I know I’m reaching here, and I’m pretty anti-cryptocurrency so I’m not looking for a nail really, but I just think distributed stuff is cool and the way blockchains work surely has some purpose when light lag is in play. Like couldn’t it be used across a dyson swarm of…

Only if the setup needs to be zero-trust. Systems of correspondent banks etc. worked very well even in times where worldwide communication took weeks, and even today there are e.g. traditional Islamic money-transmission networks that operate extremely efficiently because they rely on trust.

Re: What Problem Blockchains Solve

#32

Post by lmm »

andreskytt wrote: post #13
edgyquant wrote: post #3

Could it potentially be used to keep a distributed database of information collected by a large array of satellites orbiting something like the sun? I know I’m reaching here, and I’m pretty anti-cryptocurrency so I’m not looking for a nail really, but I just think distributed stuff is cool and the way blockchains work surely has some purpose when light lag is in play. Like couldn’t it be used across a dyson swarm of…

AFAIK Indian telecoms are using blockchain tech to maintain a distributed database of do-not-call numbers. Lag of up to 24 hours is ok and the relatively small number of parties is quite trustworthy. Basically they just use the bc for consensus and mirror it to a rdbms for read queries. That’s the only bc implementation I know that is both in production and is not speculation- or crime-fed.

Blockchain in the sense of proof-of-work mining? A Merkle tree might make sense, signed updates might make sense, but I don't see that mining adds value in that use case.

Re: What Problem Blockchains Solve

#33

Post by trevyn »

PeterCorless wrote: post #25
pengwing wrote: post #10

Ethereum has only been around since 2015. Naturally smart contracts, DAos and NFTs are somewhat newer technology, still exhibiting flaws. Block chain as a concept with the single use case of store of value has been around since 2009 in the form of Bitcoin. So let me only pick one battle here: The problem is federally-issued inflationary currency. Bitcoin solves it.

"we find no evidence of any positive links between inflation and either Bitcoin or Ethereum during times of increasing forward inflation expectations. This raises significant doubts over the ability of cryptocurrencies to hedge expected inflation in the short- or long-run." https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S016517652...

Are “inflation expectations” different than measured inflation?

Re: What Problem Blockchains Solve

#34

Post by Tepix »

wtsnz wrote: post #24

They also allow for micro transactions in a way we’ve not been able to do so far. You can use the original Bitcoin protocol to stream (and pay) for each packet of data. We can now make a pay-to-use netflix, something we haven’t done yet. https://xiaohuiliu.medium.com/netflix-over-bitcoin-payment-c...

David Chaum's Digicoin enabled this back in the mid 90s. He has the (expired) patents to prove it.

Re: What Problem Blockchains Solve

#35

Post by neiman »

The comments here show, again, that this is maybe the most charged topic in hackernews.

Why is this topic so charged? Is it because the environmental damage (but then PoS should change it)? or because there's money involved (but then ENS+IPFS are poor, so should be good)? Or is it just because it's complex and takes a lot of effort to understand?

Re: What Problem Blockchains Solve

#36

Post by ews »

mekster wrote: post #29
malthaus wrote: post #27

There is not one actual practical problem blockchains solve. It's a get rich quick / pyramid scheme built on top of a theoretical concept that appeals to nerds but doesn't work in the world we live in. The same issues persist, they're just packaged/framed differently - and, due to lack of regulation and norms to mitigate them in the real world, can still be exploited. People were complaining that Google eats up so ma…

I'm amazed at the end of 2021, I still get to see these responses about blockchain on hacker news. Somehow Reddit looks smarter when it comes to blockchain topics.

99% of times, the top comment for anything related to crypto on HN will have a comment like this. Some people just don't get it.

Unfortunately, HN became /r/buttcoin long ago, and it looks like it's not the place to have a nuanced and rational conversation about blockchain or anything crypto. There is such a wide array of rich conversation about very interesting topics happening elsewhere (monetary policy being my favorite topic after reading The Bitcoin Standard) that is just routing around HN into subreddits/discords/twitter.

Re: What Problem Blockchains Solve

#37

Post by ChymeraXYZ »

andreskytt wrote: post #13
edgyquant wrote: post #3

Could it potentially be used to keep a distributed database of information collected by a large array of satellites orbiting something like the sun? I know I’m reaching here, and I’m pretty anti-cryptocurrency so I’m not looking for a nail really, but I just think distributed stuff is cool and the way blockchains work surely has some purpose when light lag is in play. Like couldn’t it be used across a dyson swarm of…

AFAIK Indian telecoms are using blockchain tech to maintain a distributed database of do-not-call numbers. Lag of up to 24 hours is ok and the relatively small number of parties is quite trustworthy. Basically they just use the bc for consensus and mirror it to a rdbms for read queries. That’s the only bc implementation I know that is both in production and is not speculation- or crime-fed.

Hey, I have a few serious questions, as I have really been trying to understand the benefits of using blockchain over "classic" stuff. They may sound like I'm questioning things, and that's because I am but with the goal to further my understanding.

> Lag of up to 24 hours is ok

So you could use any eventually consistent DB? Or a pub-sub type queue that you process at your leisure?

> and the relatively small number of parties is quite trustworthy.

I'm assuming this parties need to apply/be invited? How is that different than needing an API key?

> Basically they just use the bc for consensus

Consensus of what exactly? AFAIU the consensus is about the state of the data on the blockchain, with sanity checking against itself, not about if many parties agree if "this number should be blocked"

> and mirror it to a rdbms for read queries.

I was always under the impression that it's quite fast to read the data off the blockchain if you are a node. Am I misunderstanding something or is what they are doing just overkill?

Re: What Problem Blockchains Solve

#38

Post by meheleventyone »

m3adow wrote: post #17
xboxnolifes wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can we quit beating this straw horse?

I don't see how that's a straw horse. It's even mentioned in the blog post as the "Enforcement problem". Nobody can (or should) take NFTs for Real-Life goods seriously until this problem is solved for good. I myself doubt it can be solved properly without a centralised authority which would contradict the whole "trustless" selling point. But I'd be glad to hear approaches how this and the Oracle problem could be solv…

Or even digital goods because you still need to know for any digital good which chain or chains has legitimate versions and really which those are versus any copies that are also on the chain(s).

Re: What Problem Blockchains Solve

#39

Post by barrkel »

ews wrote: post #36
mekster wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm amazed at the end of 2021, I still get to see these responses about blockchain on hacker news. Somehow Reddit looks smarter when it comes to blockchain topics.

99% of times, the top comment for anything related to crypto on HN will have a comment like this. Some people just don't get it. Unfortunately, HN became /r/buttcoin long ago, and it looks like it's not the place to have a nuanced and rational conversation about blockchain or anything crypto. There is such a wide array of rich conversation about very interesting topics happening elsewhere (monetary policy being my fa…

Monetary policy "debate" is deeply attractive to uninformed cranks. May it stay so routed.

Re: What Problem Blockchains Solve

#40

Post by wellthisisgreat »

mekster wrote: post #29
malthaus wrote: post #27

There is not one actual practical problem blockchains solve. It's a get rich quick / pyramid scheme built on top of a theoretical concept that appeals to nerds but doesn't work in the world we live in. The same issues persist, they're just packaged/framed differently - and, due to lack of regulation and norms to mitigate them in the real world, can still be exploited. People were complaining that Google eats up so ma…

I'm amazed at the end of 2021, I still get to see these responses about blockchain on hacker news. Somehow Reddit looks smarter when it comes to blockchain topics.

What are the uses cases of blockchain that have been deployed outside of financial schemes, where the blockchain solves a problem in a unique way that could not have been addressed with non-blockchain?

Sure there were probably blockchain projects that got traction and use blockchain, but the only reason it’s blockchain was that it’s easier to get funding for that.

Genuinely curious.

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