The Big Blockchain Lie (by Roubini)

[RelativeHorse]

https://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/blockchain-big-lie-by-nouriel-roubini-2018-10

Not sure what to make of this article -- Any thots?

[dothebeats]

Blockchain has been heralded as a potential panacea for everything from poverty and famine to cancer. In fact, it is the most overhyped – and least useful – technology in human history.

This is what the author is referring to, and to know that the article referring to the "cancer" ecosystem doesn't directly pinpoint the disease makes the author's argument invalid, and therefore biased towards established financial systems. How can a decentralized ledger actually be employed to cure cancer directly? It makes no sense at all.

No serious institution would ever allow its transactions to be verified by an anonymous cartel operating from the shadows of the world’s authoritarian kleptocracies. So it is no surprise that whenever “blockchain” has been piloted in a traditional setting, it has either been thrown in the trash bin or turned into a private permissioned database that is nothing more than an Excel spreadsheet or a database with a misleading name.

The author also missed the fact that some institutions and firms are researching the potential use-case of a blockchain in a centralized environment ergo making this quote invalid again. There are tons of blockchain fundamentals that the author has failed to iterate on this article that it shows that he is biased towards the current system. There are tons of applications of the blockchain in the real-world, and if there aren't any, why would the big companies and governments take the time, effort and resources to research about it?

[NeuroticFish]

Not sure what to make of this article

Shortly, haters gonna hate and old school economists will never understand deflationary coins. Roubini is part of both categories.

[davis196]

Blockchain has been heralded as a potential panacea for everything from poverty and famine to cancer. In fact, it is the most overhyped – and least useful – technology in human history.

This statement by Roubinin is so wrong.It couldn't get more far away from the truth than that.I can't stop laughing.
Who is saying that the blockchain is a "panacea" for everything?I think that Roubini just visited some btc newbie article about the blockchain and came to the conclusion that all btc users think that blockchain is a panacea.

[iTradeBit]

Interesting view.

[odolvlobo]

Now that cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin have plummeted from last year's absurdly high valuations, the techno-utopian mystique of so-called distributed-ledger technologies should be next. The promise to cure the world's ills through "decentralization" was just a ruse to separate retail investors from their hard-earned real money.

NEW YORK – With the value of Bitcoin having fallen by around 70% since its peak late last year, the mother of all bubbles has now gone bust. More generally, cryptocurrencies have entered a not-so-cryptic apocalypse. The value of leading coins such as Ether, EOS, Litecoin, and XRP have all fallen by over 80%, thousands of other digital currencies have plummeted by 90-99%, and the rest have been exposed as outright frauds. No one should be surprised by this: four out of five initial coin offerings (ICOs) were scams to begin with.

I completely agree with these two paragraphs. I disagree with the rest. The problem is that Roubini fails to distinguish between the technology and those charlatans who promote it in order to take money from naive and greedy people.

[stompix]

In fact, it is the most overhyped – and least useful – technology in human history.

I agree with the first part.

If you look in the altcoin section, the blockchain will save everything, from polar bears to drugs in Mongolia to women cosmetics to highways in Kenya, from porn to cabbage, from vaccines to yogurt.

The blockchain is nothing more than a distributed database if a database can't solve that problem, neither can the blockchain.
And it's not just Roubini:

DTA dunks on blockchain hype saying for every use there is a better alternative


Just as I don't need a miner in my toaster, I don't want to have to use a token or a blockchain to be able to pee in a public toilet!!! The hype is out of control!

LE: it was can't not can!

[1Referee]

The problem is Roubini fails to distinguish between the technology and the charlatans that promote it in order to take money from naive and greedy people.

It all comes down to who needs it right now, and who doesn't. If you're pretty wealthy already, and fit perfectly in the current system most people here don't like, there is not even a slight chance for him to ever be seriously interested in it. I have seen plenty of his speeches and interviews, he's a hardcore legacy system shill.

I'm glad that people like him only represent a minority. I'm certain that when the government he's badly praising all the time messes up in more ways than one, and he pretty much is forced towards Bitcoin, he'll lower his tone to the degree that he becomes a supporter rather than a skeptic. As always, in order to truly appreciate what Bitcoin offers, the system Bitcoin is meant to counter has to mess up big time, which it will.

Back in the early internet days the sentiment was somewhat similar. No one needed it initially, it was said to be solely for porn freaks, will become an environmental disaster, etc. Now nearly everyone is using it and barely anyone refers back to the aforementioned points. It's all about use.

[upsidedown75]

Not sure what to make of this article

Shortly, haters gonna hate and old school economists will never understand deflationary coins. Roubini is part of both categories.

Let them keep hating and we will be here to catch them when they miss out eventually. Blockchain obviously is the future and will most definitely penetrate almost every sector globally. However, I still understand his skepticism in the idea of it being overhyped for some reasons at least according to him, which is reasonable, but at the same time, it is not like blockchain will be a magic wand that will solve every problem, but it is just the application of it appropriately that will do so.

In that case, if we are talking about famine, poverty or whatever, government will still have a lot of part to play. Although, I feel he exaggerated a lot in his article, as I have never seen a situation where blockchain was mentioned to enable the cure for cancer or help in famine situations. So in that aspect, I believe he just wants to talk.

[rickadone]

https://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/blockchain-big-lie-by-nouriel-roubini-2018-10

Not sure what to make of this article -- Any thots?

The initial thought was not a lie, blockchain could "help" cure cancer but so does other softwares and thesis works and basically all experiments.

The idea that blockchain for a cancer research could be established and basically all around the world people who find new studies applies to this blockchain and all the new research comes from that blockchain basically being searched by the new one and putting on top if could help it.

Now, I am not saying it would cure it nor it would be the reason for it, its the people who do the studies that really improves it but we are talking about a "software" basically, how much input and help do you expect from a software really ? I think the curren system already works charmingly on sharing their studies with others and blockchain could potentially improve it a bit. There is nothing wrong with any of this.

[beerlover]

Although I do not agree with most of the things he said about blockchain and that shows how limited his knowledge is, but it is actually glaring that when you really read some news these days, you will know that some of the applications of blockchain are overhyped and we have seen it severally. Talking about the cure of cancer, I still wonder till date what blockchain will have to do with that or how it is actually going to enable the cure of cancer.

Yeah, there are so many applications for blockchain technology that would disrupt a lot of sectors, and there is no doubt about it, but it is just more like a ledger system, and what I would see in most cases would be transparency and accountability in most sectors.

[Fabienne_ayy]

https://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/blockchain-big-lie-by-nouriel-roubini-2018-10

Not sure what to make of this article -- Any thots?

Not really common point of view probably there is some sense... but the main points of decentralization weren't really mentioned

[fiulpro]

Senseless it is.

Blockchain has been proven to be immensely important for the whole world from the normal library to the most difficult government head offices data , it's all been kept safe using it .
If someone doesn't understand that doesn't mean he has the right to say bad things about it 😑
Blockchain's importance has been widely accepted and is really something that is not over but under hyped .

This guy is involved in blockchain and doesn't even know it , because it's literally everywhere now a days.

[Haunebu]

Although I do not agree with most of the things he said about blockchain and that shows how limited his knowledge is, but it is actually glaring that when you really read some news these days, you will know that some of the applications of blockchain are overhyped and we have seen it severally. Talking about the cure of cancer, I still wonder till date what blockchain will have to do with that or how it is actually going to enable the cure of cancer.

Yeah, there are so many applications for blockchain technology that would disrupt a lot of sectors, and there is no doubt about it, but it is just more like a ledger system, and what I would see in most cases would be transparency and accountability in most sectors.

You are seriously underestimating the power of the blockchain technology behind Bitcoin and every other cryptocurrency. Why in the world do you think governments around the world are admiring this technology and are focusing on utilizing it for their own benefit?

They recognize the power of this tech clearly. It might help in curing cancer in the future. Who knows?

[BitBustah]

We had a bunch of ICOs with no real business plan and had zero reason to use blockchain.  They were trying to capitalize on the hype, blockchain is slow and clunky but it is good at decentralization which is very important for a currency.

[alyssa85]

Blockchain has been heralded as a potential panacea for everything from poverty and famine to cancer. In fact, it is the most overhyped – and least useful – technology in human history.

[/quote]

The only people who have made those claims are a few mainstream newspaper articles written by journalists who a) don't understand the tech and b) are sensationalising for clickbait.

Roubini unfortunately gets all his info from mainstream journalism, even though he should know better.

Crypto has a future, it's come a long way in ten years. Bitcoin might not be the coin that "wins" but crytocurrency is here to stay.