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The blockchain is the solution to a specific problem Bitcoin has, so when people and businesses were saying "we like blockchain but not Bitcoin", it just didn't

The blockchain is the solution to a specific problem Bitcoin has, so when people and businesses were saying "we like blockchain but not Bitcoin", it just didn't make any sense. The problem is how to be able to synchronize an ever-growing database across an unlimited number of peers, and the answer is "through chunks we call blocks".

anton_ai 4y ago
This, blockchain is crypto and crypto is blockchain. It is a clever way to bypass a central authority and trust the crowd.
- TomSwirly 4y ago
  No, thank you, I'd rather put my trust in elected officials who are at least answerable to the people than to an anonymous crowd.
tromp 4y ago
Blocks are not needed to sync a growing transation database, as exemplified with Mimblewimble blockchains, whose sync just downloads the UTXO set and list of all transaction kernels.
- influxmoment 4y ago
  Correct. Blockchains are for validation not data storage
bmitc 4y ago
I’m not a fan of crypto currencies and markets, but is there not a use case for a distributed ledger? It is my understanding that that’s all a blockchain really is.
- olalonde 4y ago
  The thing is you can't have a decentralized ledger without a native currency. Without a native currency, you lose the mechanism that secures the ledger (mining).
  - soco 4y ago
    All those international companies already using internal blockchains for all kinds of stuff tend to disagree.
- tirpen 4y ago
  There are. There are however extremely few use cases for an immutable distributed ledger, which is sadly the other property blockchains have. There are simply too many cases when there are legal requirements to be able to delete data. DMCA, GDPR, Right-to-be-forgotten, anti-terror-laws, anti-libel laws, and so on.
jnwatson 4y ago
You can store things that aren’t money on a blockchain. If you think a distributed mutually-distrustful ledger is useful but shouldn’t be used for money, the statement “we like blockchain but not Bitcoin” makes sense.

anton_ai 4y ago

This, blockchain is crypto and crypto is blockchain. It is a clever way to bypass a central authority and trust the crowd.

TomSwirly 4y ago
No, thank you, I'd rather put my trust in elected officials who are at least answerable to the people than to an anonymous crowd.

tromp 4y ago

Blocks are not needed to sync a growing transation database, as exemplified with Mimblewimble blockchains, whose sync just downloads the UTXO set and list of all transaction kernels.

influxmoment 4y ago
Correct. Blockchains are for validation not data storage

bmitc 4y ago

I’m not a fan of crypto currencies and markets, but is there not a use case for a distributed ledger? It is my understanding that that’s all a blockchain really is.

olalonde 4y ago
The thing is you can't have a decentralized ledger without a native currency. Without a native currency, you lose the mechanism that secures the ledger (mining).
- soco 4y ago
  All those international companies already using internal blockchains for all kinds of stuff tend to disagree.
tirpen 4y ago
There are. There are however extremely few use cases for an immutable distributed ledger, which is sadly the other property blockchains have. There are simply too many cases when there are legal requirements to be able to delete data. DMCA, GDPR, Right-to-be-forgotten, anti-terror-laws, anti-libel laws, and so on.

jnwatson 4y ago

You can store things that aren’t money on a blockchain. If you think a distributed mutually-distrustful ledger is useful but shouldn’t be used for money, the statement “we like blockchain but not Bitcoin” makes sense.