Is blockchain now just a word to joke upon?

[Stedsm]

https://qz.com/india/1466311/modi-jokes-about-blockchain-at-singapore-fintech-festival/amp/

PM of India (where I live) cracked a joke over blockchain saying, "I have heard of an advice going around in startup circles. To increase your venture capital or VC funding by 10%, tell the investors you run a “platform,” not a regular business. If you want to increase your VC funding by 20%, tell the investors that you are operating in the “fintech space.” But, if you really want the investors to empty their pockets, tell them that you are using 'blockchain.'" Do you think that the start-ups that are using the word "blockchain" just to add more credibility to their crowdfunding campaigns as well as the project, are worth our actual hard-earned money? Many of these start-ups have failed to "disrupt" the mentioned specific categories in their whitepaper(s) and I guess most of these tokens will fall flat (freely) and tied to grounds we can't even imagine, once the investors start to spin out their money off such concepts.

[dothebeats]

That's actually another thing that I noticed concerning crypto-startups and new ventures: using the overhyped word blockchain in order to get a huge heap of funding from investors. In reality, these startups and companies introducing a new 'platform' in the competitive market doesn't really bring that much to the table, just calling an already-existing solution some fancy wording to get the interest of the masses. While I do think the blockchain tech has a lot in store for our future society, the companies aren't just doing their jobs pretty well, and the tendency is that they use the word only to fail ultimately in the end.

[Stedsm]

That's actually another thing that I noticed concerning crypto-startups and new ventures: using the overhyped word blockchain in order to get a huge heap of funding from investors. In reality, these startups and companies introducing a new 'platform' in the competitive market doesn't really bring that much to the table, just calling an already-existing solution some fancy wording to get the interest of the masses. While I do think the blockchain tech has a lot in store for our future society, the companies aren't just doing their jobs pretty well, and the tendency is that they use the word only to fail ultimately in the end.

That's pretty stupid how they're not only using the word just to add a lot of buzz and to be seen on top of search engines because it has currently become a trend, but also adding failure to their own names and smearing mud over the complete technology that's out of the box off the limitations they put it in and show that they will end up disrupting a specific industry, whereas to what I've seen till date, most of these ^platforms^ are no different than deflorating the whole tech by either running away with people's money or by not going through the pattern (and in most cases, the whole pattern is worthless only).

[dothebeats]

That's pretty stupid how they're not only using the word just to add a lot of buzz and to be seen on top of search engines because it has currently become a trend, but also adding failure to their own names and smearing mud over the complete technology that's out of the box off the limitations they put it in and show that they will end up disrupting a specific industry, whereas to what I've seen till date, most of these ^platforms^ are no different than deflorating the whole tech by either running away with people's money or by not going through the pattern (and in most cases, the whole pattern is worthless only).

Talk about a techy and innovative money-grab these startups are doing CMIIW, but ever since the advent of ETH and other dapps built on top of it, no fresh and interesting projects and ideas have surfaced, and most ICOs, projects and new coins popping are just the copy of the same coin offering a few extra on the side and changed names just so it looks new. I'm not against startups and and innovation, but there's really nothing new for the masses to churn that can really be called innovation for me, add to that fact that in order to sell, these guys would just use the word 'blockchain' on top of what they really offer.

I guess desperate times calls for desperate measures. I'd love to see something really extraordinary that can be used by most people and not just the same, recycled projects over and over again.

[thirsten]

It appears to be a buzzword that is mostly be associated with FOMO (fear of missing out) in most people's minds, when they don't entirely understand what it even means. They don't want to be known as someone who can't keep up with the times.

BUT, that doesn't mean we should be cynical and ignore projects that are solving legitimate problems when it comes to full acceptance of crypto payments and decentralization across industries. In my opinion, this requires a project to focus on not just integrating blockchain technology into supply chains, but allowing for a whole new economic infrastructure by actually recreating decentralized versions of the same services/methods of product distribution we currently use. In my opinion, this means the project has to be focused on creating a means of transacting without an exchange, as in a distributed exchange network. (The virternity ico is doing this). Also has to be very safe, impossible to hack and easy for anyone to use, not just a crypto geek.

[randythered]

Cryptocurrency and blockchain technology are huge right now and in the last couple of years, that's why so many scumbags have latched on to them and are using them as a way of scamming people out of their hard earned money. That does not mean however that the industry as a whole should not be taken seriously because it will revolutionize the world as we know it.

[kwakgyimah]

I believe the level of FOMO about blockchain technology is too much. Most people who go about making alot of noise about blockchain may not necessary know much about blockchain technology. There is the need for proper public sensitization on blockchain so people can appreciate the beautiful philosophy behind blockchain technology.

[pooya87]

that is not a joke, that is an ugly truth talking about the reality that has been happening for a while now. the ICOs made everything very easy for people to take gullible newbies' money so after about a year of their hype we have ended up here where everyone who wants to hype their business and make quick money they create a token, include "blockchain technology" in their crap and make millions.
the worst part is that most of these so called companies don't even make sense with this technology.

[Pursuer]

https://qz.com/india/1466311/modi-jokes-about-blockchain-at-singapore-fintech-festival/amp/

PM of India (where I live) cracked a joke over blockchain saying, "I have heard of an advice going around in startup circles. To increase your venture capital or VC funding by 10%, tell the investors you run a “platform,” not a regular business. If you want to increase your VC funding by 20%, tell the investors that you are operating in the “fintech space.” But, if you really want the investors to empty their pockets, tell them that you are using 'blockchain.'" Do you think that the start-ups that are using the word "blockchain" just to add more credibility to their crowdfunding campaigns as well as the project, are worth our actual hard-earned money? Many of these start-ups have failed to "disrupt" the mentioned specific categories in their whitepaper(s) and I guess most of these tokens will fall flat (freely) and tied to grounds we can't even imagine, once the investors start to spin out their money off such concepts.

I think your PM is just being ignorant and you'll see the realization of this when India is again late to the game with technology and trying to clone a terrible version of the next crypto hub like they do with all the big businesses in Silicon Valley.

you can't blame them though. the articles may contain some exaggerations but if you think about it you can see that the term "blockchain technology" has indeed turned into a buzzword that many people use nowadays whenever they want to hype their business up. and to this day I actually don't know of any company that actually implemented the blockchain technology and improved anything!

[thesmallgod]

Blockchain technology are generally abuse by many project startup. In fact more than 70% of the project I have come across do not really need blockchain technology before they can achieve their objective. To me they are just looking for a way to make quick contribution in term of investment and this is exactly why many ICO are scam. I have come acrossan ICO that is targeting convertion of waste to organic material and I asked how is this relevant to blockchain, they endup telling me that they will introduce a payment platform that make use of blockchain technology

[thesmallgod]

https://qz.com/india/1466311/modi-jokes-about-blockchain-at-singapore-fintech-festival/amp/

PM of India (where I live) cracked a joke over blockchain saying, "I have heard of an advice going around in startup circles. To increase your venture capital or VC funding by 10%, tell the investors you run a “platform,” not a regular business. If you want to increase your VC funding by 20%, tell the investors that you are operating in the “fintech space.” But, if you really want the investors to empty their pockets, tell them that you are using 'blockchain.'" Do you think that the start-ups that are using the word "blockchain" just to add more credibility to their crowdfunding campaigns as well as the project, are worth our actual hard-earned money? Many of these start-ups have failed to "disrupt" the mentioned specific categories in their whitepaper(s) and I guess most of these tokens will fall flat (freely) and tied to grounds we can't even imagine, once the investors start to spin out their money off such concepts.

I think your PM is just being ignorant and you'll see the realization of this when India is again late to the game with technology and trying to clone a terrible version of the next crypto hub like they do with all the big businesses in Silicon Valley.

The PM is saying the truth. blockchain technology are being exagerated alot. Do your own research as well and find out what exactly are the ICO using the technology to achieve in their project. you will be amaze by the type of response you get. This is actually reason why everyone is rushing to start a project and ones they have idea of what they want to do, they will just package the owe stuff by adding unnecessary blockchain technology in order for them to make it look like crypto project.

[BuyBuyBitcoin]

Blockchain = Itunes, Spotify (the bank and government versions)

Bitcoin = Gnutella, Kazaa, Bittorrent, Filelockers

Some of the medical files and land title work being planned with blockchain is cool. If it cuts down on resources and time to complete things great. It isn't always clear how or why certain groups need blockchain technology though.

[trust09man]

It appears to be a buzzword that is mostly be associated with FOMO (fear of missing out) in most people's minds, when they don't entirely understand what it even means. They don't want to be known as someone who can't keep up with the times.

BUT, that doesn't mean we should be cynical and ignore projects that are solving legitimate problems when it comes to full acceptance of crypto payments and decentralization across industries. In my opinion, this requires a project to focus on not just integrating blockchain technology into supply chains, but allowing for a whole new economic infrastructure by actually recreating decentralized versions of the same services/methods of product distribution we currently use. In my opinion, this means the project has to be focused on creating a means of transacting without an exchange, as in a distributed exchange network. (The virternity ico is doing this). Also has to be very safe, impossible to hack and easy for anyone to use, not just a crypto geek.

I read their distributed exchange is ESCROW based. I am still waiting to hear more on this project. One reason why, because, they look sorted with what they wish to achieve even if its a futuristic vision. Another reason is that they are updated with advancements and highlight it pretty well.
I hope this ICO removes the apprehension and deliver its promise.

[maianh09]

Starting a fund-raising on the Blockchain platform is a trend that almost all start-ups are choosing. Choosing this platform helps them to raise more capital from investors, but regarding performance, it requires too much of it when investors are not interested in the product that you develop. They care about the profits from the tokens they receive from the Blockchain platform you create.

[1Referee]

Blockchain = Itunes, Spotify (the bank and government versions)

Bitcoin = Gnutella, Kazaa, Bittorrent, Filelockers

Blockchain = overhyped buzzword making people not understand that well configured database systems can work just as efficiently.

Blockchain is a money cow, it's used as a smart marketing tool to raise capital startups and regular businesses otherwise wouldn't be able to raise. Ripple has been providing smart database solutions to financial institutions for a while now, and they can run their own token within that environment to move value from point A to point B.

Ripple CEO even said that blockchains aren't even useful or a better alternative, and when you know that this is factually correct, what more evidence is needed to show that corporate use of a blockchain is nothing more than hot air? They don't even want immutability.

The real innovation of the blockchain kicks in when you talk about decentralized (immutable) ledgers.

[FedorIzmailov]

To be honest, it is. projects often sell air and get very good money for it if we are talking about the cryptocurrency market and blockchains

[eternalgloom]

The term has really become somewhat of a joke, I've noticed it a long time ago, especially in tech-related discussions.
Happens every time when something is so over-hyped for no reason.

I mean you've seen some stocks rise immensely, just because they added 'blockchain' to their name.

Here's an example:
http://uk.businessinsider.com/long-blockchain-company-iced-tea-sec-stock-2018-8?r=UK&IR=T (When this ice tea company stuck the word 'blockchain' in its name, its stock skyrocketed by nearly 500%. Now, it's being investigated by the government.)

[maxilopez]

Blockchain has proven itself very well during this time, so I consider your politician a joke completely inappropriate

[trust09man]

Blockchain = overhyped buzzword making people not understand that well configured database systems can work just as efficiently.

Blockchain is a money cow, it's used as a smart marketing tool to raise capital startups and regular businesses otherwise wouldn't be able to raise. Ripple has been providing smart database solutions to financial institutions for a while now, and they can run their own token within that environment to move value from point A to point B.

Ripple CEO even said that blockchains aren't even useful or a better alternative, and when you know that this is factually correct, what more evidence is needed to show that corporate use of a blockchain is nothing more than hot air? They don't even want immutability.

The real innovation of the blockchain kicks in when you talk about decentralized (immutable) ledgers.

I agree to some extent, but without the possibility of blockchain how do you plan on setting up a decentralized system?

Blockchain comes into picture when you need a setup where the data is highly available but you are not the only one paying for it, where you would never want/need to modify data in the past and your data needs to be immutable and where you would want it to be publicly accessible. This is why crypto relies on blockchain.

But if you take only take record keeping (within your network) as aim, I agree its better to use any database and blokchain doesn't really fit into the picture.

[Anti-Cen]

The development team of Bitcoin would agree that it's a joke because if anyone never noticed the "Lightning Network" is "Off-Block"

Block-Chain was replaced by mini banking hubs on the lightning network, fees had hit $55 per transaction so no wonder people are
laughing as BTC is crashing because many know and understand this scam and thanks very much, we even made money out of it.