[BunsanSpace]

Blockchain is being used in supply chains (IBM tradelens) for immutable record keeping, NFT's (outside of selling URLs to jpgs...) are a good application for certificates of authenticity (some artists are selling their NFTs WITH a physical copy and using the NFT as the certificate of authenticity).

Any application where you need an immutable ledger is a good application for blockchain. Just because crypto enthuisiasts are trying to shoe horn this technology into anything and everything doesn't mean the above isn't true.

[vintermann]

Any application where you need an immutable ledger, and

1. You can't trust any single known party, or group of parties, to attest the integrity of the ledger (otherwise, you could just use plain old digital signatures)

2. You need infinite pseudonymous accounts in this ledger.

3. You need it so badly that you're willing to forgo a significant share of whatever value having this ledger creates, regularly, forever (mining fees).

There have been attempts to rebrand blockchain as anything containing a chain of digital signatures, no mining needed. In which case it's old technology - but in that case I also agree that it has a use.

Artists are by their nature known parties, as are factors in a supply chain. They may have a use for digital signatures, but they have no use for a scheme including mining.

[zaphar]

A merkle tree is an excellent way to represent an immutable record. Adding a cryptocurrency does nothing to the system that makes it more immutable. You only need the currency bit if you want to create a financial incentive for the strangers to store your immutable record for you. Which you only really need if you need to send said currency via strangers as a sort of courier. However that comes with it's own set of very real problems.

1. That currency is going to be heavily speculated because it's unregulated by design.

2. That currency is going to be used to bypass regulations that do in fact protect people.

3. That currency will be used to bypass an international system that is designed to allow nations to punish other bad national actors without resorting to war.

If you want to foster anarchy and to create an expectation that any individual is on their own and are actually prevented from getting assistance when they lose everything then a cryptocurrency is an ideal ideological fit. If you want something more balanced then merkle trees might be a useful tool but leave the currency aspect out of it.

[goesnowhere]

Why is there any use for blockchain in supply chains? Wouldn't it be more efficient and cheaper to run a append only database?

[ctvo]

> Any application where you need an immutable ledger is a good application for blockchain.

What's your definition of good? An immutable ledger is a good idea and useful. An immutable ledger where every write costs 50-200 USD isn't as useful, for example.