is there any legitimate use of blockchains?
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Hello,
I have been researching about blockchains and stuff and it all seems like a big scam. It's not sustainable and can be replaced by a simple database.
is there any legitimate use cases of blockchains or it is all just a big scam?
They are a write only database that doesn't rely on a centralised point of authority.
Transactions are a perfect use case and objectively better than the current fiat currency method. Unfortunately the pure intentions based in cryptography and mathematics has been spoiled by grifters trying to make a quick buck.
Monero has stayed true to the ideals of crypto completely decentralised. Truly anonymous. Faster than fiat. Cheaper than fiat. More power efficient than fiat. Real value tied to real goods not just a speculative asset.
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Hello,
I have been researching about blockchains and stuff and it all seems like a big scam. It's not sustainable and can be replaced by a simple database.
is there any legitimate use cases of blockchains or it is all just a big scam?
What are the alternatives?
How else can you create decentralized permissionless money (you know, the thing it was created for in the first place, before people got an idea of putting monkey jpegs there)? -
Hello,
I have been researching about blockchains and stuff and it all seems like a big scam. It's not sustainable and can be replaced by a simple database.
is there any legitimate use cases of blockchains or it is all just a big scam?
In theory, yes. I can't think of a practical example, but it's basically a decentralized, public, write-only database. I'm sure there are niche applications for use as a public ledger or similar.
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What are the alternatives?
How else can you create decentralized permissionless money (you know, the thing it was created for in the first place, before people got an idea of putting monkey jpegs there)?What are the alternatives?
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Hello,
I have been researching about blockchains and stuff and it all seems like a big scam. It's not sustainable and can be replaced by a simple database.
is there any legitimate use cases of blockchains or it is all just a big scam?
The decentralized idea is great, but with so many shitcoins out there...it's tough.
Are you really going to build an entire car title company stop something like Binance or Trump Coin or Ninja Bits? Hell no.
I think the concept is good, but the execution thus far remains to be seen.
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Hello,
I have been researching about blockchains and stuff and it all seems like a big scam. It's not sustainable and can be replaced by a simple database.
is there any legitimate use cases of blockchains or it is all just a big scam?
People will easily list a lot of credible legitimate usecases
that are hypothetical
and have remained hypothetical for 18 years.
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What are the alternatives?
So, I haven't read much about it, but right on the page you've linked it shows banks on a diagram explaining how it works.
If banks are involved, it is not permisionless - banks can block and censor transactions, they can refuse to open an account for you at all, etc. -
Any application where you want to record something publicly without the possibility to alter it and in absence of a central authority.
A database requires a central authority so it doesn’t cover the same use cases.
Could this be a true voting record? Votes would be transparent, but as you say, unalterable.
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Hello,
I have been researching about blockchains and stuff and it all seems like a big scam. It's not sustainable and can be replaced by a simple database.
is there any legitimate use cases of blockchains or it is all just a big scam?
There are legitimate use cases but those are so niche that if you do find yourself in a position to resort to them then you have bigger problems to worry about.
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Could this be a true voting record? Votes would be transparent, but as you say, unalterable.
If the political vote is public, voters are exposed to blackmail or they may sell their vote. It’s a bad idea unfortunately.
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Hello,
I have been researching about blockchains and stuff and it all seems like a big scam. It's not sustainable and can be replaced by a simple database.
is there any legitimate use cases of blockchains or it is all just a big scam?
A database is not an alternative to the blockchain.
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Hello,
I have been researching about blockchains and stuff and it all seems like a big scam. It's not sustainable and can be replaced by a simple database.
is there any legitimate use cases of blockchains or it is all just a big scam?
"Blockchain" as commonly meant as used in cryptocurrencies - no. Only for Bitcoin - all other *coins are scams.
However git can be considered to be based on blockchain so in that sense, absolutely.
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People will easily list a lot of credible legitimate usecases
that are hypothetical
and have remained hypothetical for 18 years.
wrote last edited by [email protected]Being on Lemmy, I like the idea of decentralized and permissionless stuff, including money. The problem I have with crypto is that they're either clearly scams (Trumpcoin, Melaniacoin etc) or they were not intended as a scam but the market fails to fairly price them because they speculate (e.g. Bitcoin).
Also I don't understand why people keep insisting in buying Bitcoin when the energy to "produce" it is enormous and is responsible for a lot of CO2 emissions when there are greener cryptocurrencies.
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In theory, yes. I can't think of a practical example, but it's basically a decentralized, public, write-only database. I'm sure there are niche applications for use as a public ledger or similar.
Honestly, cryptocurrency is an example. Some cryptocurrencies don't have mining and so aren't all that bad, and there is a use case for it, even if most of what we see today is hype.
Another example might be something like a way of proving something happened before a certain time. Like how people can send themselves sealed letters in the mail, and claim that the postmark proves that it was sealed before that date. If you put cryptographic signatures only into a public blockchain, that could be used as evidence that the document existed at that time.
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Any application where you want to record something publicly without the possibility to alter it and in absence of a central authority.
A database requires a central authority so it doesn’t cover the same use cases.
The lack of a trusted central authority is key. If you have at least one authority you can trust just barely enough, the whole idea of a blockchain collapses. There needs to be an urgent trust crisis for this to work.
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Being on Lemmy, I like the idea of decentralized and permissionless stuff, including money. The problem I have with crypto is that they're either clearly scams (Trumpcoin, Melaniacoin etc) or they were not intended as a scam but the market fails to fairly price them because they speculate (e.g. Bitcoin).
Also I don't understand why people keep insisting in buying Bitcoin when the energy to "produce" it is enormous and is responsible for a lot of CO2 emissions when there are greener cryptocurrencies.
@tired_n_bored @Deestan the mining aspect is what makes it secure.,. In theory Proof of Stake is greener, but once someone archive 51% of stake he became the owner of the network, while with proof of work the cost of securing the network is permanent... Saying this, i do agree that bitcoin energy spend is ab issue...
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Hello,
I have been researching about blockchains and stuff and it all seems like a big scam. It's not sustainable and can be replaced by a simple database.
is there any legitimate use cases of blockchains or it is all just a big scam?
wrote last edited by [email protected]An easy way for employers to verify that your certifications are authentic.
Tangentially, a lot of scientists do research on topics that do not see application in everyday life immediately.
I can't think of any examples off the top of my head, but I remember reading articles on how some research bear fruit - ones with huge impacts - only decades later.
To stop research into a topic because there is no practical application now is short-sighted IMO.
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@tired_n_bored @Deestan the mining aspect is what makes it secure.,. In theory Proof of Stake is greener, but once someone archive 51% of stake he became the owner of the network, while with proof of work the cost of securing the network is permanent... Saying this, i do agree that bitcoin energy spend is ab issue...
@tired_n_bored @Deestan I think monero made the right choice of making ASICs useless and be mined on traditional PCs... Anyone can join the mining at anytime what makes mining farms (like the ones with ASICs or GPUs) way less common
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Hello,
I have been researching about blockchains and stuff and it all seems like a big scam. It's not sustainable and can be replaced by a simple database.
is there any legitimate use cases of blockchains or it is all just a big scam?
Basically, no. At least, not until everyone has the knowledge and resources to run their own compute, which is never.
Decentralized systems must be accessible and maintainable by the majority. Blockchain is neither of these. It's also why the internet moved to platforms rather than remaining as many niche forums.
Additionally, network effects and economies of scale make decentralized systems difficult. See Lemmy. Even here, World is the biggest because it's simpler and easier to do everything in one place. People don't have to make decisions. People don't have to do their own work.
Basically, human psychology and economics suck
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@tired_n_bored @Deestan the mining aspect is what makes it secure.,. In theory Proof of Stake is greener, but once someone archive 51% of stake he became the owner of the network, while with proof of work the cost of securing the network is permanent... Saying this, i do agree that bitcoin energy spend is ab issue...
That's true, but also the algorithm plays an important role. Do we really need ASIC farms in order to secure the network? Ideally, and how it was thought at the beginning, the individual nodes should also be responsible for its validation, using consumer grade hardware.
There are greener algorithms like the Monero's. Also Nano uses something called "block lattice" in order to secure the network, with close to 0 required energy
