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Blockchain: Difference between revisions
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This makes loads of sense to a tech guy. It makes almost none to a banker. | This makes loads of sense to a tech guy. It makes almost none to a banker. | ||
===So how — ?=== | |||
Because some bankers got a bit giddy - and some techo-unabomber types, but they were kind of giddy in the first place. Blythe Masters - she who invented the [[credit default swap]]<ref>I know what you’re thinking. The Midas touch!</ref> — thought it was so profound that she joined a startup in 2015. And folks listen to Blythe — why wouldn’t you? | |||
The FT reports that as long ago as 2016 Gartner put blockchain near the top of its “peak inflated expectations” curve. | |||
===Is it — you know ...?=== | ===Is it — you know ...?=== | ||
In a nutshell, yes. | In a nutshell, yes. | ||
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*Transactions are permanent and irrevocable | *Transactions are permanent and irrevocable | ||
*There’s no mechanism to correct errors | *There’s no mechanism to correct errors | ||
*There's no — ahem — trusted intermediary who can dab the breaks, nudge the steering wheel, pursue fraudsters or help enforce contracts (purist blockchain ideology assumes contracts can be and users will want them to be enforced “[[code is law|by code]]”) | *There's no — ahem — trusted intermediary who can dab the breaks, nudge the steering wheel, pursue fraudsters or help enforce contracts (purist blockchain ideology assumes contracts can be and users will want them to be enforced “[[code is law|by code]]”). The bank of Canada put it succinctly: at “its heart, there exists a fundamental inconsistency or tension between a centralised wholesale interbank payment system, as we have now, and the decentralisation inherent in the DLT” | ||
*There’s no value that a trusted intermediary can add to the system: it’s [[caveat emptor]], [[user pays]], entirely at owner’s risk. A uber-libertarian's wet dream in other words. Great if you're holed up in a cabin in the woods with ammo and canned spam, a Spartan outlook for the rest of us who are prepared to live with a bit of benign intrusion so our GPS works okay. In other words, ''pure'' blockchain demands a tradeoff most pragmatic people aren’t prepared to make. | *There’s no value that a trusted intermediary can add to the system: it’s [[caveat emptor]], [[user pays]], entirely at owner’s risk. A uber-libertarian's wet dream in other words. Great if you're holed up in a cabin in the woods with ammo and canned spam, a Spartan outlook for the rest of us who are prepared to live with a bit of benign intrusion so our GPS works okay. In other words, ''pure'' blockchain demands a tradeoff most pragmatic people aren’t prepared to make. | ||
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So — whither the use case, dudes? | So — whither the use case, dudes? | ||
===Is it the same as [[distributed ledger technology]]?=== | |||
Because that's okay, right? No - it is the same | |||
===Further reading=== | ===Further reading=== | ||
If you want the case ''for'' blockchain, just google blockchain or even talk to any poseur or charlatan in any industry who is trying to sell you something. They’ll talk your ear off. | If you want the case ''for'' blockchain, just google blockchain or even talk to any poseur or charlatan in any industry who is trying to sell you something. They’ll talk your ear off. | ||
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*'''Cointelegraph''': [https://cointelegraph.com/news/deloitte-reports-more-than-26000-blockchain-projects-launched-in-2016 Cointelegraph on how 92% of the blockchain-related projects on GitHub are now dead.] | *'''Cointelegraph''': [https://cointelegraph.com/news/deloitte-reports-more-than-26000-blockchain-projects-launched-in-2016 Cointelegraph on how 92% of the blockchain-related projects on GitHub are now dead.] | ||
*'''Izzy Kaminska in the Pink ’Un''': [https://www.ft.com/content/b5b1a5f2-5030-11e7-bfb8-997009366969 Everyone's getting skeptical about the blockchain hype]. | *'''Izzy Kaminska in the Pink ’Un''': [https://www.ft.com/content/b5b1a5f2-5030-11e7-bfb8-997009366969 Everyone's getting skeptical about the blockchain hype]. | ||
{{ref}} | |||