Blockchain Will Fail While blockchain Is Succeeding

What is Blockchain?

It is a mirage. A con. Snake oil.

It is not revolutionary. It is boring. It is a poor data structure.

It is expensive and, worst of all, it is not even warranted.

So what is blockchain?

That is a network of computers that create an open, decentralized ledger that is encrypted with cryptography with transactions being verified by unknown parties.

Blockchain is a fancy term used by the likes of IBM. They are charging companies millions of dollars to help establish "enterprise" Blockchains.

This is nothing more than a marketing term.

Sure they might actually be blocking things but who cares? The data structure of blockchain is not the most efficient. Effectively, IBM is charging big bucks to set up shared databases.

Put your business on the Blockchain. Why?

The truth is most data does not belong on blockchain, not at this time. Until there are advancements in technology, most belongs in centralized databases. As insecure as it is, the technology is not to the point where everything can safely be put out there. This might not be the case in a decade but it is today.

Existing blockchains serve a particular purpose. They have some features that make it very attractive for specific use cases. People who require something that is open and borderless find an ideal solution in blockchain. Since it is fairly immutable, those avoiding censorship are well served. This also means it excels at establishing trust while eliminating 3rd party risk.

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The Blockchain that IBM is selling does none of this. Control is not decentralized. Hence, this is a total folly. These companies are going to realize in a few years they spent millions of dollars on something that does not work.

What good is a blockchain if I am the one verifying the data and control the software?

Even what the banks are doing is a ruse (no surprise there). The 5 largest banks are creating a settlement system which they control. This is even worse than the present system which is a lot slower. Remember, these are the same mega banks that had a big hand in collapsing the global economy a decade ago. And now they are responsible for settling every transaction.

Does anyone else see how this is going to work out? People are going to find out how it is not smart to put one's trust in these entities.

Certainly, there are a lot of business use cases for blockchain. We are going to see many industries affected. Eventually, this could be one of the underlying technologies to most of the world's data. The idea of medical records on the blockchain is fabulous but not without privacy and a secure digital ID system. We do not have that yet. However, once that is achieved, we could see things like medical research explode since the data available will grow overnight.

Which brings us to a topic that affects Steemians: Facebook. What if they started their own Blockchain?

Once again, why?

They might do it yet I think it serves no purpose. Why do they need one? To create a coin? They could do that without it. Perhaps going the route of Blockchain would give people confidence in the token but, in the end, it would not matter. Facebook will control it all. They could update the software tripling the tokens instantly.

I read the catchphrase for 2019 is going to be "Distributed Ledger Technology". It is evident people are catching onto the "Blockchain" scam so they are not altering the name. Be very careful when a technology or movement is taken over by the marketers. Name changes usually mean we are dealing with a farce.

This is going to be an interesting sell since distributed ledgers were around for decades. IBM, ironically, had them going back to the 1970s. There is nothing revolutionary about this. In fact, why not just share out an excel spreadsheet? It is basically the same thing.

The bottom line is it all comes down to trust. If I do not trust you, it does not matter what format you put the data in if you are the one controlling it. It is impossible for me to know if it is valid or not I am dependent upon you to tell me the truth and am forced to take you at your word. In the world of big business, this is a dangerous proposition.

That is not to say that all "enterprise" projects fall into this category. There are a number of applications that are being developed for both businesses and governments to use. They are tied to public blockchains which have unknown parties verifying the transactions.

Some of these could be big winners in the future.

In the end, it will be the public blockchains that end up being used. It solves a basic human problem: trust.

As we all know, companies that act as trust agents charge a premium for their service.

This is what blockchain eliminates.

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