BLOCKCHAIN 4EVA

[Gallymimu]

I don't know about you guys, but I have so many customers and startups touting using blockchain for XYZ business process.

It seems to me that anything that ultimately is meant to remain under centralized control, would not actually benefit from blockchain anymore than a robust central database design.  It also seems to me that any business trying to make money, would likely want to maintain central control soooo... it seems stupid for most businesses to be developing a blockchain for XYZ.

Do any of you have other thoughts?  Am I missing the point?

The latest one I heard was a venture raise for a real estate transaction private blockchain for title insurance etc. etc. smart contracts bla blah....  The other popular one is blockchain for health records...

[fpgaguy]

there is a good (free) class covering this in coursera, although you will need to bring in good java skills for the homework if you want to pass

In general though de-centralized currency has some merits especially
 - leaving out the possibility of manipulation by the traditional printer of centralized currency (see: Zimbabwe, Venezuela, etc )
- consensus of trust in transactions by using distributed ledger system
- receiver of funds can not manipulate the amount sent (IE contrast this with providing a CC#, bank account #, or check - which are easily manipulable, spent multiple times, re-used for transactions not authorized by spender)
- owner of funds, and parties to transactions can be somewhat further along the spectrum of anonymity

While all this is pretty solid mathematically - most of the current security issues have been related to entities storing your crypto asset holdings behind a traditional password

And also now the price of posting a bitcoin transaction is fairly high since the consensus system works off the reward  (IE essentially a "tip"  included in the transaction as a reward for the system of transaction processors)

[Gallymimu]

Thanks for the input, but I wasn't really looking for currency based info.  It's pretty well established the value of decentralized currency ledgers.

If you note my query, I was more interested in the benefit to other business processes especially those where centralized control is desired and it's contrast with centralized traditional databases.

[Sideshow Bob]

I have this article in my bookmarks from some time ago. It is kind of dumbed down. But in the end many potential uses are listed. Most of the uses are related to commerce
https://blockgeeks.com/guides/what-is-blockchain-technology/

[Gallymimu]

I have this article in my bookmarks from some time ago. It is kind of dumbed down. But in the end many potential uses are listed. Most of the uses are related to commerce
https://blockgeeks.com/guides/what-is-blockchain-technology/

good article, though it's really a blockchain marketing fluff piece.  It's still worth a read!

[fpgaguy]

Well that's the beauty of blockchain - the transaction is just that  - it does not have to represent money/currency - It could be title ownership transfer, rights transfer or really any transaction
Bitcoin is mostly only for currency transfer; although you can include notes in the transaction to indicate "you did something on day x" - such as recording of an invention or even a date of marriage

There are other currencies that are more geared towards title transfers, and smart contracts that allow for cases such as multiple parties having to sign off on a transaction, or even create a N out of M requirement for a transaction to be valid