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I feel I'm taking crazy pills with all the people screeching the blockchain has no uses. They're as wrong as the people who say it has ALL the uses. Also, a (2

I feel I'm taking crazy pills with all the people screeching the blockchain has no uses. They're as wrong as the people who say it has ALL the uses. Also, a (2017) wouldn't go amiss. This article is about three and a half years old, and for a concept that's supposedly so bereft of use cases, it's managed to be pretty enduring.

paddlepop 5y ago
...and they are? I think the subtext that is implied with the no use case statement is really: "that couldn't be done with an existing technology (such as a database)".
- kemonocode 5y ago
  Seriously, decentralized, pseudonymous money that is censorship resistant and doesn't rely on any single government or organization is the killer app. That's how I'm using it, it works perfectly for my use case and even though it's a sample size of one, there's at least one person who relies on it and can sleep at night a bit more soundly knowing that their money won't suddenly be gone the next morning because PayPal or their bank looked at them funny because they were born in a spicy patch of land. Anything else comes as a plus. Do please spare me the whole "it's boiling the oceans" and "only hackers and druggies are using it" spiel though as they're both [0] untrue [1]. [0] https://hbr.org/2021/05/how-much-energy-does-bitcoin-actually-consume https://hbr.org/2021/05/how-much-energy-does-bitcoin-actuall... [1] https://www.forbes.com/sites/haileylennon/2021/01/19/the-false-narrative-of-bitcoins-role-in-illicit-activity/ https://www.forbes.com/sites/haileylennon/2021/01/19/the-fal...
ryandvm 5y ago
The fact that it was written in 2017 and yet today the only use cases for blockchain are still just buying small amounts of illegal stuff and warming the planet lends the author a bit of credit as prescient technologist.
- majewsky 5y ago
  You forgot "making money off people who just want to get in on the hype".

paddlepop 5y ago

...and they are? I think the subtext that is implied with the no use case statement is really: "that couldn't be done with an existing technology (such as a database)".

kemonocode 5y ago
Seriously, decentralized, pseudonymous money that is censorship resistant and doesn't rely on any single government or organization is the killer app. That's how I'm using it, it works perfectly for my use case and even though it's a sample size of one, there's at least one person who relies on it and can sleep at night a bit more soundly knowing that their money won't suddenly be gone the next morning because PayPal or their bank looked at them funny because they were born in a spicy patch of land. Anything else comes as a plus. Do please spare me the whole "it's boiling the oceans" and "only hackers and druggies are using it" spiel though as they're both [0] untrue [1]. [0] https://hbr.org/2021/05/how-much-energy-does-bitcoin-actually-consume https://hbr.org/2021/05/how-much-energy-does-bitcoin-actuall... [1] https://www.forbes.com/sites/haileylennon/2021/01/19/the-false-narrative-of-bitcoins-role-in-illicit-activity/ https://www.forbes.com/sites/haileylennon/2021/01/19/the-fal...

ryandvm 5y ago

The fact that it was written in 2017 and yet today the only use cases for blockchain are still just buying small amounts of illegal stuff and warming the planet lends the author a bit of credit as prescient technologist.

majewsky 5y ago
You forgot "making money off people who just want to get in on the hype".