BLOCKCHAIN EXPLAINED FOR NON GEEKS (Part 2)
Unless you live under a rock with no internet facility, you must have heard about Bitcoin or Blockchain. In Part 1, I explained what blockchain really is. And to understand blockchain in details, we need to debunk the myths about blockchain.
1. Blockchain is not just Bitcoin:
Discussions around Bitcoin often pop up mentions of Blockchain and both can sometimes be misused for the other. We all know Bitcoin is a digital money that can be obtained and used to make payment for goods and services, just like we pay with US Dollars.
Bitcoin is popularly known as a tradable currency; this is in fact, its most popular identity. All over the world, digital monies called cryptocurrencies are traded everyday like FOREX and Stock exchange. This is made possible by the technology called Blockchain. Bitcoin is the first successful application of the Blockchain technology. Blockchain powers bitcoin and other digital monies alike.
2. Blockchain is not an Internet Scam or a get-rich-quick platform:
The last decade has seen a massive surge in flimsy money doubling schemes, pyramid structured investment and the likes. This is due to the increased access to internet especially in third world countries. Every good thing can be misused; such is the case of Internet created to make access to information easy but over the years a lot of people have lost their hard-earned funds to internet scammers and schemes.
Many victims of failed investments are misinformed about blockchain and bitcoin. The cryptocurrency market is a volatile market that requires calculative and informed decisions to avoid unfortunate tales. However as earlier stated, blockchain is more than just for trading digital money. It is not a fraudulent platform nor an investment portfolio. It is a technological tool that is advanced and allows huge transactional records to be stored in a transparent and immutable way.
3. Blockchain is not a bubble:
In 2008, Satoshi Nakamoto successfully broke the regular world of transaction with the invention of Bitcoin through cryptography. The first publicised use of bitcoin as a means of exchange was the purchase of Pizza by Laszlo Hanyecz with 10,000btc. The acceptance of Bitcoin quickly spread like wildfire. Transactions were consummated swiftly across the globe at a cheaper rate. Some corporations adopted the currency as a means of payment and physical bitcoin ATMs were available in some countries all over the world.
Over the last decade, there has been more adoption of cryptocurrencies as a means of exchange. Bitcoin trading volume shot to $44 Billion within 24 Hours in June, 2019. This acceptance has also reflected in the adoption of the blockchain technology that powers bitcoin. Now, blockchain technology is being used to craft solutions in every industry all over the world. There is fear that cryptocurrency will fade out which seem unlikely. However, it is evident that decentralised technology is here to stay as it is revolutionary and disruptive.
4. Blockchain can function without cryptocurrency
As much as we are all aware that the emergence of blockchain brought about the reality of cryptocurrency, it is very possible to build a decentralised ledger database without cryptocurrency. A cryptocurrency is a form of incentive on the blockchain ecosystem that is created(mined) as a reward for computation services rendered. This crypto-less blockchain possibility however is still in the works e.g IBM blockhain
5. Blockchain can not save everything
A lot of blockchain evangelists have made claims and promises on how blockchain will save the world and these promises sometimes sound bogus and phony. The need for blockchain is not for everything. I believe in the saying “ If it ain’t broken, don’t fix it” we have some system and processes that may not require a decentralised system of data storage. Every project or business model that considers the blockchain technology is expected to have done analytical research on cost, value, and expected return; be it monetary or not.
Blockchain will not save everything, but it can make better business processes, system of government and transactional operations.
Conclusively, new technology requires new expertise but there seem to be a little bit of hesitation among programmers and software developers. The blockchain architecture is designed uniquely, however, it is not as herculean as it may seem. Experts in programming languages should consider blockchain development as it is now in high demand with numerous blockchain solutions emerging everyday.
