The real value of blockchain

[hatshepsut93]

Ok so basically blockchain is used only for cryptocurrency and that’s it. For anything else it’s useless because everything else can be created with existing tech

Yes, currently the only successful application of blockchain is cryptocurrency. Some newbies might say that blockchain is used for medical records, supply chains, etc., but they are just parroting what they have read in blogs and articles. In reality all other uses are only theoretical or exist as prototypes, and this is despite 4-5 years of development. No wonder that software engineers are highly skeptical of this technology. And when it's between engineers and marketers, you should always listen to engineers.

[CarnagexD]

There are a lot of benefits. Let's first take a look at the world of blockchain because those all of the transitions are going into recorded by the blockchain which is encrypted and in every block makes a duplicate which is another encrypted code to make sure and see that all of the transactions are safe. Also in real life, we could adopt the use of the blockchain because it has a lot of benefits recently there is a topic about the universities applying the use of the blockchain which is more efficient because they are using the traditional way of making a file cabinet which is not good at saving files instead it is good to adopt the blockchain because it is more secured also we are using the cloud storage that we can make a backup immediately without any hassle.

[witcher_sense]

I don't think that Blockchain is only a decentralized system, as it was discussed that blockchain can be both a decentralized and centralized system depending on the way it was implemented.

A blockchain can be either centralized or decentralized. It is important, however, that decentralized not be confused with distributed. While a blockchain is inherently distributed (meaning that many parties hold copies of the ledger), it is not inherently decentralized.

The question here is if we really need a centralized blockchain in which everything is controlled by small group of people. They have absolutely different views on how system should work, there is no space for immutability, security, accessibility in a blockchain of such kind. Just some thoughts from this article:

Ultimately, a centralized distributed ledger should be used in any highly regulated industry - such as financial services - to minimize vulnerability.

Bitcoin has showed us that decentralized blockchain is the best way to minimize vulnerability. It is an open-source system that is constantly under attack and is still alive. What will happen to centralized blockchain if someone outside finds a bug and use to make profit? How much time will it take for developers to find a vulnerability?

[crwth]

From what I understand from your post, you are saying that it's not ideal to use the blockchain technology for social networks? Why not? It should not just be with cryptocurrencies just because of the applications that BC has and knowing that would lead to other advancements not only just in the financial part but also in the communication between people.

If you are interested in different applications, some researches focus on this and one article that amazed me is this one: Handbook of Research on Blockchain Technology

Just imagine the POS systems that opened borders within different parts of the world and be connected quickly and trade goods and services efficiently. How amazing it is.

[davis196]

I’m trying to figure out the REAL value of blockchain. For example creating social network on BC is totally useless, BC for cryptocurrency is the REAL value

Can someone explain what’s the real value, why would I build something on BC except for “decentralization”. If I can build something with other technology why would I use BC.

What is it that I can do ONLY with BC and cannot be created with any other tech?

Please help me see the value in BC because I still don’t see it

Security,lack of centralized control,flexibility.Don't you think that those features give value?
I guess that by "real value" you mean functionality and usefulness,since those are the features that give value.Well,it still hasn't been proved that the blockchain is effective and useful in any big system(education,healthcare,real estate,banking and finance,retail,agriculture,etc...).
Blockchain technology is very promising,but the full potential of this amazing technology is yet to be discovered.

[serjent05]

I don't think that Blockchain is only a decentralized system, as it was discussed that blockchain can be both a decentralized and centralized system depending on the way it was implemented.

A blockchain can be either centralized or decentralized. It is important, however, that decentralized not be confused with distributed. While a blockchain is inherently distributed (meaning that many parties hold copies of the ledger), it is not inherently decentralized.

The question here is if we really need a centralized blockchain in which everything is controlled by small group of people. They have absolutely different views on how system should work, there is no space for immutability, security, accessibility in a blockchain of such kind. Just some thoughts from this article:

Well, we are talking about blockchain here and I am just pointing out that blockchain is not only decentralized but rather, can be centralized.  As of the question, if we need a centralized blockchain, I think the same thought will be given to the decentralized blockchain system.  Each has its pros and cons.  We cannot say that decentralized blockchain has no cons, the same goes for the centralized system. 

The problem with us is that we became fanatic of something that anything against what we believe becomes wrong.  We fall into the category of being biased and that is not healthy.

Blockchain technology is very promising,but the full potential of this amazing technology is yet to be discovered.

BC is still at a very young stage, and during this time, it is still on experimentation and exploration of where it will fit in.

[thesmallgod]

systems are made on purpose to be altered

And this is exactly where the problem start from. Unless you are the one in control of the system, you can not trust others with you identity. For instance, people information are being traded for money from the dark web. not all these come up out as a result of hacking but people that have access to database sell this informations. In banking sectors, information about people pensions and gratuity are being altered and framed just for their own gain. This we hardly happen in a decentralized world.

[Harlot]

Blockchain itself is a "technology" not something you can do without but something to improve the current system. Just by looking at the blockchain technology itself you will fail to see a value onto it since blockchain is something implemented to help/support/improve something aside from the cryptocurrencies blockchain as a digital ledger is now being utilized by a lot of companies in their ongoing patent war with each other on who will have the most patented versions of their blockchain. This ongoing patent war itself  shows how valuable blockchain technology is on how a current system is improved by the implementation of blockchain. If you fail to see any value with Blockchain maybe you are looking at it in a different way.

[witcher_sense]

Well, we are talking about blockchain here and I am just pointing out that blockchain is not only decentralized but rather, can be centralized.  As of the question, if we need a centralized blockchain, I think the same thought will be given to the decentralized blockchain system.  Each has its pros and cons.  We cannot say that decentralized blockchain has no cons, the same goes for the centralized system. 

The problem with us is that we became fanatic of something that anything against what we believe becomes wrong.  We fall into the category of being biased and that is not healthy.

I was just curious to know if I understand the blockchain technology correctly. That is the beauty of new technologies - we learn something new about it every single day. So, in my opinion, the only realization of blockchain that really works was firstly introduced in bitcoin network. We all know that this kind of blockchain is a great solution to the problem of digital cash, we don't need a central server to verify our transactions anymore. Transactions is part of history as long as they're written on blockchain. It is immutability of blockchain, which can be considered one of the main features of this technology, makes it unique. Before invention of bitcoin, we have never been able to achieve immutability. It is not possible to provide immutability in centralized blockchains, so they can use data bases or spreadsheets instead, it is cheaper and has the same effect.

[HorizontalSystems]

Main feature of blockchain is censorship resistance. All other benefits come from this one.

Censorship resistance is achieved via immutability and decentralization.

Censorship resistance is such an incredible feature that, it may revolutionize the entire world.

[serjent05]

Well, we are talking about blockchain here and I am just pointing out that blockchain is not only decentralized but rather, can be centralized.  As of the question, if we need a centralized blockchain, I think the same thought will be given to the decentralized blockchain system.  Each has its pros and cons.  We cannot say that decentralized blockchain has no cons, the same goes for the centralized system.  

The problem with us is that we became fanatic of something that anything against what we believe becomes wrong.  We fall into the category of being biased and that is not healthy.

I was just curious to know if I understand the blockchain technology correctly. That is the beauty of new technologies - we learn something new about it every single day. So, in my opinion, the only realization of blockchain that really works was firstly introduced in bitcoin network. We all know that this kind of blockchain is a great solution to the problem of digital cash, we don't need a central server to verify our transactions anymore. Transactions is part of history as long as they're written on blockchain. It is immutability of blockchain, which can be considered one of the main features of this technology, makes it unique. Before invention of bitcoin, we have never been able to achieve immutability. It is not possible to provide immutability in centralized blockchains, so they can use data bases or spreadsheets instead, it is cheaper and has the same effect.

Well said but I think this article may capture your interest :  The Blockchain Immutability Myth.  Kinda old article but I believe it still has its punch.

Main feature of blockchain is censorship resistance. All other benefits come from this one.

Censorship resistance is achieved via immutability and decentralization.

Censorship resistance is such an incredible feature that, it may revolutionize the entire world.

The problem is, the government who has the authority won't allow the decentralized system to take over their established centralized system.  They will establish a centralized regulatory board over that decentralized system that we are hoping for and it is happening now.

[witcher_sense]

Well said but I think this article may capture your interest :  The Blockchain Immutability Myth.  Kinda old article but I believe it still has its punch.

Thanks for the article, however I have heard those claims about blockchain being not truly immutable system. These are not baseless at all. But you can claim the same about everything we have today. Every notion can be disputed. Any truth can be viewed from different perspectives, you can find flaws and shortcomings absolutely everywhere. Everything is relative, there is nothing absolute in the universe. Even universe itself can be destroyed by big bang, in the same way it was born. So, while we are talking about immutability of blockchain, we can't predict future of humanity. If humanity refuses the idea of bitcoin, it will definitely fall apart, its immutability will be gone for good. It is people who have to decide whether they need immutability or not. After all, bitcoin and blockchain were created to serve people, so let people to decide what to do.

[Reid]

No one controls bitcoin. That is the part which I like the most.
No ownership as a whole. We are the owner when we acquire it.

The same goes for when you use it in different fields.
No one can edit it. Everything that will happen will be recorded with transparency but they cannot interfere with the results.

I guess we will see fruits if someone will create that kind of project.
The main problem is you will do it for free.
That is how amazing Satoshi is. No one paid him but yet look at Bitcoin now.

[serjent05]

Well said but I think this article may capture your interest :  The Blockchain Immutability Myth.  Kinda old article but I believe it still has its punch.

Thanks for the article, however I have heard those claims about blockchain being not truly immutable system. These are not baseless at all. But you can claim the same about everything we have today. Every notion can be disputed. Any truth can be viewed from different perspectives, you can find flaws and shortcomings absolutely everywhere. Everything is relative, there is nothing absolute in the universe. Even universe itself can be destroyed by big bang, in the same way it was born. So, while we are talking about immutability of blockchain, we can't predict future of humanity. If humanity refuses the idea of bitcoin, it will definitely fall apart, its immutability will be gone for good. It is people who have to decide whether they need immutability or not. After all, bitcoin and blockchain were created to serve people, so let people to decide what to do.

True that, and I also believe that "there is no permanent in this world but change".  Since Blockchain is only a creation of man, anyone with enough knowledge and power can easily modify anything.  I also believe in the uncertainty of the future, who knows there will be another technology far more useful than blockchain technology that will render it worthless. 

Blockchain tech is still young and currently trending, whatever lies ahead we never know until we get there.  The real value of blockchain depends on the people who patronize or despise it.  It might be worth the world or nothing at all.  At the end of the day, it is the individual's valuation that matters.

[DoubleEdgeEX]

The real value is the change it brings and the fact that it makes a lot of business easier, faster and more reliable and trustworthy. Not only in fintech but think of the supply chain business. It has a reason why Maersk was one of the first that got seriously interested when IBM came up with their supply-chain blockchain solution. Certainly, there are ventures that don´t need a blockchain solution like pretty much everythign that has to do with hard labour

[witcher_sense]

True that, and I also believe that "there is no permanent in this world but change".  Since Blockchain is only a creation of man, anyone with enough knowledge and power can easily modify anything.  I also believe in the uncertainty of the future, who knows there will be another technology far more useful than blockchain technology that will render it worthless. 

Blockchain tech is still young and currently trending, whatever lies ahead we never know until we get there.  The real value of blockchain depends on the people who patronize or despise it.  It might be worth the world or nothing at all.  At the end of the day, it is the individual's valuation that matters.

We must admit that blockchain, at least version implemented in the bitcoin network, is the first successful realization of digital immutability. Whether or not it is completely immutable, it doesn't actually matter. It maybe just a first step of the big journey into new world of digital technologies where immutability matters. Technologies we have never witnessed before. That is why I rather value decentralized blockchains, because centralized realization don't have unique properties and look similar to databases. When you rename a file on your PC, it doesn't make it different, its properties remain exactly the same. What companies did when they started to use the word "blockchain" is just renaming the file. There is nothing special with using old databases, but they have been trying to make it more valuable by using the modern term "blockchain".

[htsy585]

I’m trying to figure out the REAL value of blockchain. For example creating social network on BC is totally useless, BC for cryptocurrency is the REAL value

Can someone explain what’s the real value, why would I build something on BC except for “decentralization”. If I can build something with other technology why would I use BC.

What is it that I can do ONLY with BC and cannot be created with any other tech?

Please help me see the value in BC because I still don’t see it

You are right about one thing,  cryptocurrency is the best application of blockchain so far but i assure you, there are a lot that can be done with Blockchain. Few months back,  a young blockchain enthusiasts in African designed an electoral voting system using the potentials of blockchain technology and it is currently being used across many education institutions for voting and electing union leaders. I believe with time, countries will adopt the use of such transparent means of electoral system

[darewaller]

You already said that Blockchain has a real value in being used for cryptocurrency, isn't that enough value for you already? Or you still need to know more on how it can be useful? Well there are still so many ways that the Blockchain can be helpful to us. And like you said, decentralization, that's really one of the good things about Blockchain and that means Blockchain is really important in the area of securing things. Others mentioned using Blockchain to store information so that they are permanent and open to the public.

Blockchain cannot be breached, which means that any information stored on it is completely safe due to its decentralized nature. Since the Blockchain is transparent, it can be a means of fraud protection for your business. I hope that serves you.

[Ucy]

There are alot of values in its fundamentals or principles. Decentralization is one of the most important part of them. Without the decentralization, we will have alot of the vices or abuses associated with centralized currencies taking place on the network. The decentralization makes breaking or going against network rules without the participants consent (consensus) harder. There are other really valuable principles of Blockchain like transparency, immutablity, censorship resistant, privacy/anonymity, permissionless/trustlessness, security etc