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The co-founder of Ethereum Vitalik Buterin has much to say about the blockchain, as he believes IBM "miss the point".
In this era of political correctness, it is refreshing when someone actually speaks their mind. Vitalik Buterin has no trouble expressing his opinions, such as calling Craig Wright. Quartz he spoke with Buterin at Devcon, the Ethereum developer conference, in which he expressed several opinions about the current and future status of blockchain technology.
Vitalik Buterin sheds some shadows to the IBM
An interesting aspect of the interview was the way some entities used Ethereum and blockchain to generate hype for projects that could be done more easily by alternative means, such as a database. Buterin thinks that such projects can only be undertaken for marketing hype, but also says that even if the project is done seriously, deciding to use blockchain instead of other alternatives can lead to "much lost time".
It takes note of a particular project that considers IBM's blockchain a waste of time. He says:
I do not understand [IBM’s corporate blockchain] deeply, but the detail that came up is that they're saying "Hey, we own all the IPs and this is basically our platform and you're going over it." And how, it's not … absolutely the point …
It is no secret that Buterin is not a fan of centralization. Just a few months ago he publicly stated that centralized exchanges should "burn in the hell".
However, he goes on to say that IBM's food blockchain could have some benefit. Note:
The potential value of tracking food on a blockchain is that you would get the QR codes printed on it [food] at every step [along] the way in which, as a user, you can scan the code and get confirmation about "here is where the stuff comes from". How can I check if it complies with my moral values or quality standards and so on.
There's definitely something there, but regardless of whether any of the actors are doing it remotely, they're much less secure.
Good use cases for Blockchain
Vitalik Buterin also expressed his opinion that not all sectors could benefit from blockchain technology. He says that some particular industries are the most viable when it comes to blockchain technology. (These industries should not be surprising.) Buterin says:
Cryptocurrency and facilitates international payments. All other ideas – be it self-sufficient products or identities – are clearly something that still needs a lot more time to be worked out before you can see [whether it] it makes sense on a large scale.
Going beyond the money, I think that the value is the creation of a token and the immediate access to portfolios, multi-signature portfolios, decentralized exchanges and only to use it as collateral: all this infrastructure that you would not have access to if you had just created a currency and tried to run it from your server.
I feel as if real utilities in space begin to approach things that are more purely digital.
Currently, Buterin's preferred non-financial application for blockchain technology is the authentication of university degrees. Love the idea of digitally signing your blockchain degree. It acknowledges the additional benefit that if a college revokes the degree, this information will also be stored on the blockchain and accessible to all.
What do you think of Buterin's comments? Let us know in the comments below.
Images courtesy of Shutterstock.
