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Ask HN: Am I going insane or is there genuinely no value in blockchain tech?

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Re: Ask HN: Am I going insane or is there genuinely no value in blockchain tech?

#21

Post by kbrkbr »

TekMol wrote: post #5

The value of blockchains seem so obvious to me, that I wonder if OP can be genuine. ask_111: How can having a public log that is extremely tamper resistant not have value? Let's look at a concrete example: Bitcoin. You can write something into the Bitcoin blockchain and be very sure that the information you wrote into it will stay there pretty much forever. Is that enough, or do we also have to discuss why having suc…

Let me point out that it will stay there pretty much forever as long as someone is paying for storage and computing. I would think this tied to the possibility of earning real money.

Re: Ask HN: Am I going insane or is there genuinely no value in blockchain tech?

#22

Post by alkonaut »

TekMol wrote: post #5

The value of blockchains seem so obvious to me, that I wonder if OP can be genuine. ask_111: How can having a public log that is extremely tamper resistant not have value? Let's look at a concrete example: Bitcoin. You can write something into the Bitcoin blockchain and be very sure that the information you wrote into it will stay there pretty much forever. Is that enough, or do we also have to discuss why having suc…

> Is that enough, or do we also have to discuss why having such a tamper proof log has value?

What I wonder is rather are there enough instances where it has value to actually motivate the hype (investment etc)? I can definitely see several dozen people working with this tech a few decades from now…

Re: Ask HN: Am I going insane or is there genuinely no value in blockchain tech?

#23

Post by oxff »

You are confused. The distributed ledger described in whitepaper is valuable when you need to form a consensus about past events under dispute (or which could possible be disputed). Also the ponzi-space of cryptocurrency / blockchain is clearly valuable since you can generate 1000% moons in there for joke coins, it's valued by real money and you can earn real money by trading them.

Re: Ask HN: Am I going insane or is there genuinely no value in blockchain tech?

#24

Post by [deleted] »

anotherhue wrote: post #17

Public writable block chains seem to be a dead end due to the cost of 'proof of x' in any Sibyl safe way. Private blockchains, such as for cross company account clearances, complex asset exchanges (planes, land) may help dislodge the rent seeking lawyers. They can be publically readable also which could be useful, e.g. For querying a land registry.

[deleted]

Re: Ask HN: Am I going insane or is there genuinely no value in blockchain tech?

#26

Post by ak_111 »

armada651 wrote: post #20

A lot of people pushing Blockchain technology have a vested interest in making it a more pervasive technology. Because Blockchain applications drive up the value of their crypto assets and offer more opportunities for speculation using crypto. Blockchain applications don't necessarily need to use existing cryptocurrencies. However in that case you need to find some other incentive to get people to mine your blockchai…

The funny thing is that I don't believe there is a "blockchain lobby" that is driving hype similar to bitcoin and other fads, that would at least make it more compressible. In fact it is not clear who benefits if it gets "adapted", whatever that means.

It just seems collective delusion in pushing the technology by people who have little stake in it if at all, and sensible people have just given up trying to point out that it is vapourware, but the attention seems to be increasing year on year if anything...

Re: Ask HN: Am I going insane or is there genuinely no value in blockchain tech?

#27

Post by nlitened »

anotherhue wrote: post #17

Public writable block chains seem to be a dead end due to the cost of 'proof of x' in any Sibyl safe way. Private blockchains, such as for cross company account clearances, complex asset exchanges (planes, land) may help dislodge the rent seeking lawyers. They can be publically readable also which could be useful, e.g. For querying a land registry.

By the way, as far as I understand, git is an example of a private blockchain.

Re: Ask HN: Am I going insane or is there genuinely no value in blockchain tech?

#28

Post by threeseed »

ryanobjc wrote: post #15

A centralized database of fungible and useful assets is going to eventually be hacked. Just ask OKTA about that. Whereas there is no central point of hack for a well designed and tested blockchain. Distributed custody in an adversarial environment with mutual trust and dis-trust. Yes it's not everything, but tradfi solutions are not 150% bulletproof either - they may only seem that way to the outside, but there are m…

* Centralised database is eventually going to be hacked.

* Decentralised blockchain can't be hacked because it's well designed and tested.

Problem is neither of these statements are always true.

Re: Ask HN: Am I going insane or is there genuinely no value in blockchain tech?

#29

Post by jokoon »

Unless government regulates something, that thing is not going to have proper value. This is true for everything, and this is true for blockchain.

Society needs to officially recognizes something through government and law.

Libertarians don't like this, but it's true.

Re: Ask HN: Am I going insane or is there genuinely no value in blockchain tech?

#30

Post by YPPH »

anotherhue wrote: post #17

Public writable block chains seem to be a dead end due to the cost of 'proof of x' in any Sibyl safe way. Private blockchains, such as for cross company account clearances, complex asset exchanges (planes, land) may help dislodge the rent seeking lawyers. They can be publically readable also which could be useful, e.g. For querying a land registry.

>Private blockchains, such as for cross company account clearances, complex asset exchanges (planes, land) may help dislodge the rent seeking lawyers.

I've heard this one before and I am little hesitant about it.

I imagine if you want to sell planes or land, you may want the seller to make certain assurances. So a lot of what M&A lawyers do, I understand, is work out what assurances need to be obtained and how to best enforce them in the contract.

How does a private blockchain ensure enforcement of such a term? Seems like a human arbitrator may always be needed (judge or arbitrator), and an intermediary to give effect to any decision. So what advantage is there to gain from blockchain as opposed to other financial platforms?

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