| The blockchain tech and distributed ledger technology is interesting. The current uses of it appear like money grabs of some kind or another. A ledger itself has zero value, it's literally the same as a checkbook register, its a tool. For example using the checkbook register as the ledger, let me describe my understanding as it relates to crypto: * I offer up a limited set of pages of a checkbook register for trade and we track who trades what part of this register. We establish 1 transaction (tx) in the register is 1 unit * We assign some value to each unit in the register. These values are associated with government backed currencies since we need some reference point as to their value in money. * Accounts are created to track how many tx/partials you own. Trading platforms are built to buy/sell/trade units of this register. Apps are built with value displaying the govt currency * If you run some complex mathematical proofs on your computer/GPU you can "find" a new unit and keep part of it. * It is well known there are limited units of the register, this drives the "value" up on trading platforms. * People (or companies, banks, etc.) are allowed to buy/sell their units and move the proceeds of that sale that into a supported government backed currency with some transfer fees. Humans have associated monetary value with a ledger of transactions and those transactions are tracking trades of the ledger itself? It just doesn't make much sense when you think it through at that basic level like it was a checkbook register. In my example if the value of each unit on the register/ledger was associated to marbles instead of a government backed currency, this whole thing falls down. What if blockchain/distributed ledger technology was used as a tool to track transactions but the ledger itself wasn't something that has monetary value? |