> Blockchain has emerged from the once shadowy world of cryptocurrency to become the most in-demand skill in 2020, according to LinkedIn. The promise of blockch

> Blockchain has emerged from the once shadowy world of cryptocurrency to become the most in-demand skill in 2020, according to LinkedIn. The promise of blockchain is huge. And large companies are continuing to hire and expand their blockchain teams, incl. Facebook, Amazon, Microsft, EY, Deloitte, IBM, and Oracle, to name a few. So, it should be well worth the effort to become familiar with how blockchain works, what its perceived benefits are, and as a developer starting building on top of them. This is the problem with "Blockchain" in one paragraph. Notice how there's no statement of a problem? Notice how it leads with hype and technology? Notice how it tries to FOMO you into action? The Bitcoin block chain has been tried in many different situations. So far there is very little show beyond electronic cash. Not inventory control, not voting, not land registration. The one other application that might be considered mostly viable is timestamping. Bitcoin is a timestamping server, after all. The good news is that the problems electronic cash solves are getting worse every year. Privacy. Deplatforming. Weaponization of the dollar and other local currencies. The bad news is that Bitcoin is also good at running itself, which means there isn't a lot of room for startups in the traditional sense. There may be room for sponsored non-profits such as Blockstream and Lightning Labs. There the funder model seems to be "improve Bitcoin and the value of your holdings will increase."