5 ms·

What are some good noncrypto uses of blockchains that you've seen?

latchkey 2y ago
Timestamping (which is actually what bitcoin is). For better or worse, this is one commercial application of it: https://guardtime.com/platform https://guardtime.com/platform
- cypherpunks01 2y ago
  Guatemalan dev Rafael Cordon made a project called Simple Proof that leverages OpenTimestamps for election security. It was used in the Guatemalan 2023 elections to timestamp tally sheets in different election districts around the country, so they can't be manipulated at a later time.
  - latchkey 2y ago
    Timestamp.com is owned by a buddy of mine. Long before blockchain, we tried to build a company around being an SMTP relay and a special HP PCIe card that took the GPS signal as its source. The card was special because it was encased in glass and an inert gas, which could sense if it was tampered with. Ahh... the good old days.
  - delfinom 2y ago
    ....or, you just use the same timestamp mechanism available for code signing. Aka you ask a CA to issue a signed timestamp against a content hash and while you are at it, you can get multiple CAs in it.
    - joshlemer 2y ago
      The fact that there are other ways to work around previous limitations to accomplish something doesn't render the use-case invalid. The GP was asking for a usecase outside of currency and one was provided. If a valid use-case for electricity was asked, and someone described a lightbulb, you could just as well say "...or, you could just use an oil lamp"
deleted 2y ago
[deleted]
everfree 2y ago
My favorite example is Ethereum Name Service (ENS). Instead of a patchwork of DNS servers that can go down, registrars that go through enshittification cycles, and complicated ownership/transfer rules that vary based on country and TLD, ENS presents a single unified database that runs on signed message broadcasts. To change an ENS entry, you just sign a message and broadcast it anywhere. No need to interface with a registrar. The global resolver gets updated seconds later. It reduces an incredibly complex system of registries and registrars, authoritative and recursive resolvers, domain transfers - it distills it down to a system of just sending signed messages to update a single global name database that gets replicated to everyone who cares to have a copy.
- cyberax 2y ago
  > To change an ENS entry, you just sign a message and broadcast it anywhere. No need to interface with a registrar. The global resolver gets updated seconds later. Yeah. And if your domain name keys are stolen or lost, they're gone. Forever. Or held for ransom. That's a huge reason why people are not rushing to use blockchain-based DNS.
  - everfree 2y ago
    Have you ever had a domain name stolen? They're also gone forever in most cases. There is no standard recovery path once a domain leaves the hands of your registrar. You might as well be trying to reverse an international wire transfer. ENS is not worse in this respect than DNS. The DNS solution is for your registrar to require 2FA to protect your name from being transferred out in the first place. The ENS solution is for your custodian to... require 2FA to protect your name from being transferred out in the first place. The difference is that anyone has the option to custody their own domain name if they want to - entrusting a third party is not a necessity. Edit: Additionally, ENS gives you the equivalent of DNSSEC for free. So no need for certificate authorities, which represent DNS' reliance on cryptographic keys that would be catstrophic if stolen anyways.
    - cyberax 2y ago
      > Have you ever had a domain name stolen? They're also gone forever in most cases. If it's a high-value domain, you call the registrar and get it back. Worst case, you can sue the thief if you hold a trademark for the name. > There is no standard recovery path once a domain leaves the hands of your registrar. There is. It's called "a lawsuit".
halfcat 2y ago
The problem with any privately run, or centrally controlled blockchain, is that it’s difficult as the operator of the blockchain to demonstrate to a third party that the blockchain hasn’t been tampered with. If I run a blockchain that I, or my business, has full control of, and I show you as a form of “proof”, you shouldn’t believe me. A time stamped Twitter post would hold more weight. The power of, say, the bitcoin blockchain, is in the fact that it’s widely distributed and publicly verifiable by anyone, and due to the size of the network it is prohibitively expensive to tamper with.

Timestamping (which is actually what bitcoin is). For better or worse, this is one commercial application of it: https://guardtime.com/platform https://guardtime.com/platform

cypherpunks01 2y ago
Guatemalan dev Rafael Cordon made a project called Simple Proof that leverages OpenTimestamps for election security. It was used in the Guatemalan 2023 elections to timestamp tally sheets in different election districts around the country, so they can't be manipulated at a later time.
- latchkey 2y ago
  Timestamp.com is owned by a buddy of mine. Long before blockchain, we tried to build a company around being an SMTP relay and a special HP PCIe card that took the GPS signal as its source. The card was special because it was encased in glass and an inert gas, which could sense if it was tampered with. Ahh... the good old days.
- delfinom 2y ago
  ....or, you just use the same timestamp mechanism available for code signing. Aka you ask a CA to issue a signed timestamp against a content hash and while you are at it, you can get multiple CAs in it.
  - joshlemer 2y ago
    The fact that there are other ways to work around previous limitations to accomplish something doesn't render the use-case invalid. The GP was asking for a usecase outside of currency and one was provided. If a valid use-case for electricity was asked, and someone described a lightbulb, you could just as well say "...or, you could just use an oil lamp"

deleted 2y ago

[deleted]

everfree 2y ago

My favorite example is Ethereum Name Service (ENS). Instead of a patchwork of DNS servers that can go down, registrars that go through enshittification cycles, and complicated ownership/transfer rules that vary based on country and TLD, ENS presents a single unified database that runs on signed message broadcasts. To change an ENS entry, you just sign a message and broadcast it anywhere. No need to interface with a registrar. The global resolver gets updated seconds later. It reduces an incredibly complex system of registries and registrars, authoritative and recursive resolvers, domain transfers - it distills it down to a system of just sending signed messages to update a single global name database that gets replicated to everyone who cares to have a copy.

cyberax 2y ago
> To change an ENS entry, you just sign a message and broadcast it anywhere. No need to interface with a registrar. The global resolver gets updated seconds later. Yeah. And if your domain name keys are stolen or lost, they're gone. Forever. Or held for ransom. That's a huge reason why people are not rushing to use blockchain-based DNS.
- everfree 2y ago
  Have you ever had a domain name stolen? They're also gone forever in most cases. There is no standard recovery path once a domain leaves the hands of your registrar. You might as well be trying to reverse an international wire transfer. ENS is not worse in this respect than DNS. The DNS solution is for your registrar to require 2FA to protect your name from being transferred out in the first place. The ENS solution is for your custodian to... require 2FA to protect your name from being transferred out in the first place. The difference is that anyone has the option to custody their own domain name if they want to - entrusting a third party is not a necessity. Edit: Additionally, ENS gives you the equivalent of DNSSEC for free. So no need for certificate authorities, which represent DNS' reliance on cryptographic keys that would be catstrophic if stolen anyways.
  - cyberax 2y ago
    > Have you ever had a domain name stolen? They're also gone forever in most cases. If it's a high-value domain, you call the registrar and get it back. Worst case, you can sue the thief if you hold a trademark for the name. > There is no standard recovery path once a domain leaves the hands of your registrar. There is. It's called "a lawsuit".

halfcat 2y ago

The problem with any privately run, or centrally controlled blockchain, is that it’s difficult as the operator of the blockchain to demonstrate to a third party that the blockchain hasn’t been tampered with. If I run a blockchain that I, or my business, has full control of, and I show you as a form of “proof”, you shouldn’t believe me. A time stamped Twitter post would hold more weight. The power of, say, the bitcoin blockchain, is in the fact that it’s widely distributed and publicly verifiable by anyone, and due to the size of the network it is prohibitively expensive to tamper with.