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Blockchain: Difference between revisions
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A blockchain is a distributed record of information — transactions, contracts, whatever — stored across a network. Each “block” of information gets its own cryptographic code which is posted to ''every'' node on the network. Thus, you can’t futz with any information on the blockchain unless you can futz with the whole network. Once written, the blocks are, effectively, permanent. | A blockchain is a distributed record of information — transactions, contracts, whatever — stored across a network. Each “block” of information gets its own cryptographic code which is posted to ''every'' node on the network. Thus, you can’t futz with any information on the blockchain unless you can futz with the whole network. Once written, the blocks are, effectively, permanent. | ||
Blockchain allows ''parties who don’t trust each other'' to transact in confidence. What’s done is done — what’s on the blockchain cannot be reversed. There’s a permanent record. No one controls it: it’s truly anarchic, like: no government. No mendacious middlemen like banks. just pure, | Blockchain allows ''parties who don’t trust each other'' to transact in confidence. What’s done is done — what’s on the blockchain cannot be reversed. There’s a permanent record. No one controls it: it’s truly anarchic, like: no government. No mendacious middlemen like banks. just pure, untrammelled laissez-faire. | ||
This makes loads of sense to a tech guy. It makes none to a banker. (But you ''would'' say that, banker dude). | Thus, bitcoin — a currency without the backing of ''anyone''. It just bootstraps itself into existence like a [[skyhook]]. This makes loads of sense to a tech guy. It makes none to a banker. (But you ''would'' say that, banker dude). | ||
===So how — ?=== | ===So how — ?=== | ||
Because some folks got a bit | Because some folks got a bit giddy—and some techno-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. | The FT reports that as long ago as 2016 Gartner put blockchain near the top of its “peak inflated expectations” curve. | ||
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So — whither the use case, dudes? | So — whither the use case, dudes? | ||
===The sovereign individual=== | |||
It's not all bad: the underlying model, like the internet - provides for a radical new way of organising affairs where data is not centralised, but kept at the edges and in the hands of the users. If the user has her own digital wallet with credentialised data, this can be passed, encrypted, only where and when required, to intemediaries. The intermediaries wouldn't be able to keep it, or harvest it, or sell it, and it would be less susceptible to being hacked (instead of hacking VISA's website and getting personal data of 400 million people in one go, you'd need to hack 400m people's individual wallets. Not impossible to hack a wallet but, but the value is in the aggregated data, not individual files, so the incentives are wildly out of whack. | |||
It also passes the reponsibility for keeping that data up-to-date to its owner, and it only has to be done once. | |||
Obstacles: | |||
*Firstly, intermediaries who buy and sell your data will HATE this, since them collecting your data is extremely valuable to them. Don't expect to see Google or Amazon or Facebook promoting digital wallets any time soon. BUT for the person who does, and makes the case, a monopoly busting disruptive business model awaits. | |||
*Secondly, which digital wallet? What if there is more than one? what if you lose your key? What will the poor meatsack do then? Does anyone even care about the meatsack any more? | |||
*Thirdly, and what does this say about the distrinction between our online persona and our fleshly existence? Is this first step to synthesising our mortal frames into a virtual existence? Is this the trick we're missing? The robots are not going to turn into us, but we are going to turn into the machines? | |||
Oh the irony. | |||
===Is it the same as [[distributed ledger technology]]?=== | ===Is it the same as [[distributed ledger technology]]?=== | ||