Blockchain technology is going to change everything: the shipping industry, the financial system, government … in fact, what won’t it change? But enthusiasm for it mainly stems from a lack of knowledge and understanding. The blockchain is a solution in search of a problem.

reddit comments

There are several oversimplifications to watch out, but still interesting.

  • ailiphilia
    61·
    3 years ago

    Does blockchain solve the double-spending problem? Can crypto currencies help devs (and possibly other creators) to monetize apps and other products?

    I agree that blockchain is a solution to only a few problems, but can’t this be said about all technologies?

    The author seems to implicitly suggest to keep up the status quo and ignores the potential of a new tech (yes, there is also much empty hype around). Blockchain may or may not live up its potential, but this depends on the decision we as humans make rather than on the technology imho.

    I don’t know what to do with this article. It’s just a sequence os simplified examples. But that’s just my two cents.

    • DessalinesA
      6·
      3 years ago

      Databases solve nearly every storage problem, there isn’t many problems in computer science where they don’t apply.

      Blockchains solve only one tiny problem: the double spend problem, or when you need data to show an ownership history, and you specifically don’t want to rely on a central authority. Its a strange edge case that doesn’t even exist for most money, credit, or transactions today.

      • guojing
        2·
        3 years ago

        You cant build a cryptocurrency without blockchain. So ita certainly more than a strange edge case.

        • null_radix
          21·
          3 years ago

          I agree; but what @dessalines@lemmy.ml says still holds true I think. Most transaction should probably use layer 2 solutions such as lightning network and only fall back to the blockchain in cases for dispute or settlement which should be a rather infrequent event compared to transacting.

            • null_radix
              1·
              3 years ago

              ok, well then replace lightning with payment channels in general then. Why is lightning a scam?

              • guojing
                4·
                3 years ago

                Because you have to trust some huge, centralized nodes which can steal your money, or charge extra fees. So basically a bank.

  • kingthrillgore
    5·
    3 years ago

    I would have argued it solved a distributed data problem, but DHTs solved that and much like DHTs, the Blockchain is painfully slow.

    • null_radix
      72·
      3 years ago

      DHT and blockchain solve different problems. Blockchain are usefully when you need to come to consensus on the ordering for events.

      • null_radix
        6·
        3 years ago

        You could, scuttlebutt builds a social network without domains and optionally uses a DHT

  • Thann
    41·
    3 years ago

    Git essentially uses a “blockchain” to store commits =/

          • Thann
            3·
            3 years ago

            Yes, it doesn’t have any method for distributed global consensus. Instead, everyone gets to decide what they think the “tip” should be. Signed commits can give you insight into what others think it should be, though.

            If I fork bitcoin and and replace proof-of-work with signed blocks, I would argue that its still a blockchain, just not decentralized. This would still be useful because others could see if I tried to re-write history.

            I think of a blockchain, simply as a chain of blocks where each block contains a hash of its contents + the previous blocks hash. So, their primary feature is being an append-only tamper-evident database.

    • Limcon
      5·
      3 years ago

      Here in Brazil, this system exists, but without a blockchain, and it works very well. It tracks vaccinations, surgeries, when you went to a hospital or a basic health unit (it’s like a mini hospital for check-ups, vaccination and less severe stuff), etc.

      I went to a doctor recently (that I never went before) and he started asking things like “so you broke your arm on 2003? Interesting”.

      So I would say that blockchain might not help in that area either haha.

        • ailiphilia
          1·
          3 years ago

          What dies “better” mean? If everything is stored on a single server owned by this one company in Mountain View or so, is it better then?

            • ailiphilia
              1·
              3 years ago

              Nothing and no one is ever infallible. What I say is that the web as we know it is broken in that it has become a walled garden controllled by a few companies. And, yes, a lot of web3 doesn’t appear to change that, it’s just old wine in new bottles. We needed to discuss alternatives to different use case (payment and currency systems, how we monetize apps and other products, data hosting and sharing,. …). Energy efficiency and affordability are important issues, but I want to have choice and don’t want to become dependent on 5 or so companies in whatever I do. If that means that I have to pay, I’d be fine with that.

    • DessalinesA
      4·
      3 years ago

      That use case has nothing to do with a blockchain, just private sharing / syncing of data. That’s easily done via webservers and databases, no need for a distributed transfer of ownership ledger.

  • angarabebesi
    12·
    3 years ago

    Blockchain is a really cool technology that helps to solve some problems. But it has been hyped up beyond it’s real usefullness.