4 ms·

One example of things that have changed is zero knowledge roll ups. When I first used ethereum, transacting with it was free and fairly quick. The QR code appr

One example of things that have changed is zero knowledge roll ups. When I first used ethereum, transacting with it was free and fairly quick. The QR code approach meant that it was easier, faster, cheaper and safer to transfer money with it than with my bank account. That changed dramatically for the worse once the systems started getting popular (and traditional banks upped their game too). With L2 systems like zksync, we're back to cheap and fast, and we don't have to give up the central security properties. Another example of something that has changed for ethereum is Proof Of Stake. Some years ago, I worked for a large financial organisation, and we had a use case that would have saved a lot of internal work to move onto a public blockchain. Given the organisations eco aspirations, using a POW based system was never going to be acceptable. Now that ethereum is on Proof Of Stake, it's actually conceivable that these kinds of applications could be deployed by large financial institutions.

hiq 4y ago
> we had a use case that would have saved a lot of internal work to move onto a public blockchain If anything, large financial institutions have by now realized that they're not interested in public blockchains[0], one notable example as of late being the Australian Securities Exchange[1]. These technical improvements are a bit as if a salesman reduced the price of a product, on top of free delivery. That's nice, sure, but that doesn't mean you need the product any more than before. There are more fundamental reasons why smart contracts are not widely used, and they're not addressed by these technical improvements. [0]: as defined in https://www.schneier.com/essays/archives/2019/02/theres_no_good_reaso.html https://www.schneier.com/essays/archives/2019/02/theres_no_g... [1]: https://www.reuters.com/technology/australian-securities-exchange-cut-up-200-jobs-blockchain-project-2022-12-02/ https://www.reuters.com/technology/australian-securities-exc...
- kybernetikos 4y ago
  My example was a situation where we would benefit from a public blockchain solution in terms of more efficient administration, but were unable to use it because of ecological concerns. In that situation we already needed the product, and the improvement removes a barrier.
  - hiq 4y ago
    > a situation where we would benefit from a public blockchain solution in terms of more efficient administration That's what I'm doubting. Ecological concerns etc. are a problem, but in my experience public blockchain solutions fail earlier, at the stage where one asks "would there be any benefit" before asking what the costs might be.
    - kybernetikos 4y ago
      Then we have different experiences.

hiq 4y ago

> we had a use case that would have saved a lot of internal work to move onto a public blockchain If anything, large financial institutions have by now realized that they're not interested in public blockchains[0], one notable example as of late being the Australian Securities Exchange[1]. These technical improvements are a bit as if a salesman reduced the price of a product, on top of free delivery. That's nice, sure, but that doesn't mean you need the product any more than before. There are more fundamental reasons why smart contracts are not widely used, and they're not addressed by these technical improvements. [0]: as defined in https://www.schneier.com/essays/archives/2019/02/theres_no_good_reaso.html https://www.schneier.com/essays/archives/2019/02/theres_no_g... [1]: https://www.reuters.com/technology/australian-securities-exchange-cut-up-200-jobs-blockchain-project-2022-12-02/ https://www.reuters.com/technology/australian-securities-exc...

kybernetikos 4y ago
My example was a situation where we would benefit from a public blockchain solution in terms of more efficient administration, but were unable to use it because of ecological concerns. In that situation we already needed the product, and the improvement removes a barrier.
- hiq 4y ago
  > a situation where we would benefit from a public blockchain solution in terms of more efficient administration That's what I'm doubting. Ecological concerns etc. are a problem, but in my experience public blockchain solutions fail earlier, at the stage where one asks "would there be any benefit" before asking what the costs might be.
  - kybernetikos 4y ago
    Then we have different experiences.