4 ms·
The biggest issue is that people underestimate how incredibly niche cryptocurrencies actually are. They solve one single issue, the double spending problem on t
by Salgat 5y ago
The biggest issue is that people underestimate how incredibly niche cryptocurrencies actually are. They solve one single issue, the double spending problem on truly anonymous transactions. For the vast majority of people, this isn't a problem they have. Smart contracts extend this functionality in novel ways, but the problem is still that the applications are incredibly niche. It's why people still use VISA or AliPay, it's why no Fortune 500 company relies on blockchains for its critical infrastructure, and why all major smart contract usage is related to either crypto exchanges, gambling, or more cryptocurrencies (such as ERC-20 based ones on the Ethereum blockchain).
- flarex 5y agoBlockchains solve the trusted intermediary problem which is far more general concept than double spending. It's also a common misconception that blockchains are anonymous; they are pseudoanonymous and there are companies devoted to de-anonymising and tying real world users to transactions. They do this quite successfully. There are ongoing efforts to completely anonymise computation and transactions on the blockchain using ZK snarks but most today are not using this. Also those use-cases you mention are the low hanging fruit, but as more time passes and the technology matures I expect to see a much broader range of uses for trust-less computation.
- c21h30o2 5y ago> crypto exchanges, gambling, or more cryptocurrencies (such as ERC-20 based ones on the Ethereum blockchain). These are the building blocks of more interesting stuff that will come later.