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Bingo. Blockchain systems are ideal for tracking & control, even beyond credit cards and the like. Bitcoin is simply so much more accessible.

BatFastard 9y ago
Blockchain is amazing. Its use in cryptocurrencies is just the cat that got out of the bag...
- mrep 9y ago
  The centralized use case (not run by arbitrary nodes) might have some use cases but the decentralized versions run on untrusted nodes which are all the craze are ridiculously uneconomical. Here is an article estimating Google (one of the most profitable software companies) hardware expenditure at 5 billion a quarter [0], or 20 billion a year. With their 20 billion in profit a year, a doubling of server costs would make one of the most profitable software companies uneconomical. Bitcoin and most other cryptocurrencies rely on everyone processing every computation which is insanely cost heavy which is why bitcoin processes a fraction of what visa does but costs the electricity of a small country. Google's server requirements would obviously be uneconomical with that architecture but can any architecture that relies on untrusted nodes to do the computation be economical when a company such as Google could not run on twice the infrastructure costs? And thats just one of the downsides with decentralized cryptocurrencies of which there are many. [0]: http://www.datacenterknowledge.com/archives/2014/07/23/from-112-servers-to-5b-spent-on-google-data-centers-per-quarter http://www.datacenterknowledge.com/archives/2014/07/23/from-...
  - merkaloid 9y ago
    Cryptocurrencies don't require you to give away your computing power for free, the blockchain gives them rewards for securing the network.
    - mrep 9y ago
      That reward needs to be sold to pay for the infrastructure costs of running that node which comes from increasing the supply of your cryptocurrency which decreases the value of each cryptocurrency token.
  - miscreanity 9y ago
    Blockchain systems enable structures very different from what we're used to, much like proprietary and open source models can differ greatly. Instead of needing a healthy profit margin for server operation as in your Google example, blockchain servers can be run much closer to cost or even at a loss. Benefits may be realized elsewhere and do not necessarily have to be financial.

BatFastard 9y ago

Blockchain is amazing. Its use in cryptocurrencies is just the cat that got out of the bag...

mrep 9y ago
The centralized use case (not run by arbitrary nodes) might have some use cases but the decentralized versions run on untrusted nodes which are all the craze are ridiculously uneconomical. Here is an article estimating Google (one of the most profitable software companies) hardware expenditure at 5 billion a quarter [0], or 20 billion a year. With their 20 billion in profit a year, a doubling of server costs would make one of the most profitable software companies uneconomical. Bitcoin and most other cryptocurrencies rely on everyone processing every computation which is insanely cost heavy which is why bitcoin processes a fraction of what visa does but costs the electricity of a small country. Google's server requirements would obviously be uneconomical with that architecture but can any architecture that relies on untrusted nodes to do the computation be economical when a company such as Google could not run on twice the infrastructure costs? And thats just one of the downsides with decentralized cryptocurrencies of which there are many. [0]: http://www.datacenterknowledge.com/archives/2014/07/23/from-112-servers-to-5b-spent-on-google-data-centers-per-quarter http://www.datacenterknowledge.com/archives/2014/07/23/from-...
- merkaloid 9y ago
  Cryptocurrencies don't require you to give away your computing power for free, the blockchain gives them rewards for securing the network.
  - mrep 9y ago
    That reward needs to be sold to pay for the infrastructure costs of running that node which comes from increasing the supply of your cryptocurrency which decreases the value of each cryptocurrency token.
- miscreanity 9y ago
  Blockchain systems enable structures very different from what we're used to, much like proprietary and open source models can differ greatly. Instead of needing a healthy profit margin for server operation as in your Google example, blockchain servers can be run much closer to cost or even at a loss. Benefits may be realized elsewhere and do not necessarily have to be financial.