How to determine if you’ve found a real blockchain use case Blockchains are overhyped. There, I said it. From Sibos to Money20/20 to cover stories of The Economist and Euromoney, everyone seems to be climbing aboard the blockchain wagon. And no doubt like others in the space, we’re seeing a rapidly increasing number of companies… Read more »
Yearly Archives:: 2015
Smart contracts: The good, the bad and the lazy
Why private blockchains should not be eager to run code I’m not a fan of the term “smart contracts”. For a start, it has been used by so many people for so many different things, that we should probably just ban it completely. For example, the first known reference is from 1997, when Nick Szabo used it… Read more »
Private blockchains are more than “just” shared databases
Why blockchain detractors are missing the point And so it goes on. From popular posts to contemptuous tweets to predictions about the future, the world and its mother are lining up to throw tomatoes at private blockchains, before even understanding what they are. Saying that a private blockchain is just a shared database is like… Read more »
Delivery versus payment on a blockchain
How blockchains can solve the oldest problem in the book Trading between people is as old as humanity itself. It began at the moment when caveman Ogg said to caveman Ugg: “me give you rock, you give me berries”. But trading carries with it a fundamental problem: it requires trust. What stops Ogg from using… Read more »
Ending the bitcoin vs blockchain debate
Is there any value in a blockchain without a cryptocurrency? The debate has been running for a while but the past month has seen a serious uptick. The question being asked is: Is there any value in a blockchain without a cryptocurrency? And can these “tokenless shared ledgers” be called blockchains at all? So I’ve… Read more »