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by adamnemecek 3104 days ago
Right, block chain will do the same. The ongoing revolution is the fight against ruling classes, same as over the last 5000 years.

Not really true that it depends on the government. And even if it is, you only need like one government supporting it for it to be valuable.

Why couldn’t your argument be used to say the internet won’t work?
1 comments
etr-strike 3104 days ago
You can’t have a blockchain without a Bitcoin. The two are inseparable. Every blockchain needs a token reward which has monetary value to secure it.
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Cyberdog 3104 days ago
That doesn't seem to me like a fundamental law. Certainly with "internal blockchains" or other cases where at least a majority of the operators are trusted, mining and tokens are completely unnecessary.
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etr-strike 3104 days ago
A blockchain is a decentralized trustless ledger. If the operators are trusted, you can just use a database. It’s much more efficient. It’s pretty clear from the comment that you don’t understand Bitcoin or why, when people say “we like blockchain but not bitcoin”, that they’re talking nonsense.
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Cyberdog 3104 days ago
> If the operators are trusted, you can just use a database. It’s much more efficient.

This is true! But databases don't have that magic "blockchain" tech.

David Gerard's book Attack of the 50 Foot Blockchain touches on the ridiculousness of this idea, actually. And, yes, it's ridiculousness, but it's what some people are trying to sell.

So should I take it that you're one of the people who thinks blockchains have little applications outside of currency?

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etr-strike 3104 days ago
No, I think blockchains provide many useful functions. However, providing a token with value is a necessary feature. I’m very excited about things like Rootstock which add smart contract functionality to the bitcoin blockchain.
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teamonkey 3104 days ago
As far as I can tell, the purpose of tokens is to provide an incentive for running the ledger client and processing transactions: mining for uptake and transaction fees to maintain scale long-term. You need as many people to run the client as possible.

If you can find some other reason for processing transactions and can guarantee that the population is big enough then the coin becomes unnecessary.

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