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> Blockchain is really just an accounting system. Yeah, it's really just a globally accessible, append-only, Turing-complete accounting system controlled by no

by sshine 5y ago

> Blockchain is really just an accounting system. Yeah, it's really just a globally accessible, append-only, Turing-complete accounting system controlled by no single authority. Nothing to see here, move along.

jqpabc123 5y ago
How did the world ever survive/operate without it?
- piva00 5y ago
  I'm very much not into cryptocurrencies and I constantly bash them and their communities but... The same argument could be used for the internet, or cars, or phones, or any other technology. The world survived but it definitely wasn't the same before.
  - jqpabc123 5y ago
    See my other comment above. Blockchain and crypto are interdependent and as such, are not really analogous to the technologies you mentioned. In other words, take away the crypto and blockchain is largely a solution looking for a problem. Don't take my word for it, just ask Microsoft and IBM. https://www.zdnet.com/article/microsoft-is-shutting-down-its-azure-blockchain-service/ https://www.zdnet.com/article/microsoft-is-shutting-down-its... https://www.coindesk.com/business/2021/02/01/ibm-blockchain-is-a-shell-of-its-former-self-after-revenue-misses-job-cuts-sources/ https://www.coindesk.com/business/2021/02/01/ibm-blockchain-...
acdha 5y ago
The internet is a globally-accessible system controlled by no single authority, too, with an awful lot of Turing-complete systems using it. The smarter question to ask is what problems require a global append-only database with code execution capabilities, and how much value there is in that approach relative to the much cheaper alternatives. Using a blockchain locks in significant costs relative to everything else so there has to be a really compelling answer to that question to be worth the extra cost and risk.
- jqpabc123 5y ago
  Blockchain only works if you can print/mint the money needed to pay for the operation. Otherwise, there are faster/cheaper/simpler alternatives.
  - acdha 5y ago
    Also ask whether the entire system can live on the blockchain. If it needs trusted third-parties to provide data, broker deals, etc. all of the overhead isn’t giving you much.
- sshine 5y ago
  > The smarter question to ask is what problems require a global append-only database with code execution capabilities Global financial systems? > how much value there is in that Value is subjective. > there has to be a really compelling answer to that question to be worth the extra cost and risk. Somehow I sense that you're not compelled. That's okay.
  - acdha 5y ago
    > > The smarter question to ask is what problems require a global append-only database with code execution capabilities > Global financial systems? Clearly not since those have functioned for centuries without one. You can argue it could be more efficient than the status quo but it can’t possibly be a requirement to use more compute capacity than the entire world had only a few years earlier. > Somehow I sense that you're not compelled. That's okay. Well, I do tend to require something in the way of evidence.

by sshine 5y ago

jqpabc123 5y ago

How did the world ever survive/operate without it?

piva00 5y ago
I'm very much not into cryptocurrencies and I constantly bash them and their communities but... The same argument could be used for the internet, or cars, or phones, or any other technology. The world survived but it definitely wasn't the same before.
- jqpabc123 5y ago
  See my other comment above. Blockchain and crypto are interdependent and as such, are not really analogous to the technologies you mentioned. In other words, take away the crypto and blockchain is largely a solution looking for a problem. Don't take my word for it, just ask Microsoft and IBM. https://www.zdnet.com/article/microsoft-is-shutting-down-its-azure-blockchain-service/ https://www.zdnet.com/article/microsoft-is-shutting-down-its... https://www.coindesk.com/business/2021/02/01/ibm-blockchain-is-a-shell-of-its-former-self-after-revenue-misses-job-cuts-sources/ https://www.coindesk.com/business/2021/02/01/ibm-blockchain-...

acdha 5y ago

The internet is a globally-accessible system controlled by no single authority, too, with an awful lot of Turing-complete systems using it. The smarter question to ask is what problems require a global append-only database with code execution capabilities, and how much value there is in that approach relative to the much cheaper alternatives. Using a blockchain locks in significant costs relative to everything else so there has to be a really compelling answer to that question to be worth the extra cost and risk.

jqpabc123 5y ago
Blockchain only works if you can print/mint the money needed to pay for the operation. Otherwise, there are faster/cheaper/simpler alternatives.
- acdha 5y ago
  Also ask whether the entire system can live on the blockchain. If it needs trusted third-parties to provide data, broker deals, etc. all of the overhead isn’t giving you much.
sshine 5y ago
> The smarter question to ask is what problems require a global append-only database with code execution capabilities Global financial systems? > how much value there is in that Value is subjective. > there has to be a really compelling answer to that question to be worth the extra cost and risk. Somehow I sense that you're not compelled. That's okay.
- acdha 5y ago
  > > The smarter question to ask is what problems require a global append-only database with code execution capabilities > Global financial systems? Clearly not since those have functioned for centuries without one. You can argue it could be more efficient than the status quo but it can’t possibly be a requirement to use more compute capacity than the entire world had only a few years earlier. > Somehow I sense that you're not compelled. That's okay. Well, I do tend to require something in the way of evidence.