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Since the main cryptocurrency prices go from one month to the next and, for some, from all time, to historic lows, the technology of the distributed ledger that supports virtual currencies has been impeached.
Blockchain technology enables counterparties and organizations to record transactions on a decentralized permanent record that is immutable and transparent. To encrypt bugs, the technology is more efficient and secure than current databases and is set to break current practices, statements that, for the most part, are free of challenges.
However, for all the clamor and promises, a research group has discovered that opaque technology is all but transformative and far from dismantling current industry practices.
To read: Opinion: Roubini: Blockchain is one of the most overpowered technologies of all time
In a joint report on MERL technology (Monitoring, Evaluation, Research and Learning), Christine Murphy, social researcher at Social Solutions International and John Burg and Jean Paul Pétraud, USAID partners, found that a number of blockchain-based projects do not they have been published.
"We have documented 43 cases of use of blockchain via Internet searches, most of which have been described with brilliant statements such as" operating costs … reduced by up to 90% "or with" acquisition and storage "insurance. accurate and secure data "". "We found a proliferation of press releases, white papers and articles written in a persuasive way, but we did not find any documentation or proof of the results that the blockchain would have stated in these statements."
To date, blockchain has escaped the criticism of cryptocurrencies. Indeed, a number of high-profile names in the financial sector have openly praised the technology, denouncing coins that require a blockchain to operate on. This includes Steve Strongin, head of Goldman Sachs
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Investment research and JPMorgan Case & Co
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CEO Jamie Dimon.
To read: Most cryptocurrencies are going to zero, Goldman analysts say
But the MERL report highlights the concerns many have with the nascent industry. "We did not get any better when we contacted several blockchain companies directly, via e-mail, phone and in-person: none of them were willing to share data on program results, MERL processes or adaptive management for potential scalability", they wrote.
To read: The investigation finds a surprising barrier to the adoption of the blockchain
However, for some large companies, blockchain projects are showing that nothing but real failures. At the forefront is IBM
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He created the first blockchain technology offering commercially available with IBM Blockchain Platform.
To date, the US multinational has experienced an increase of 500 projects, according to Ramesh Gopinath, VP, of Blockchain Solutions at IBM.
Gopinath told MarketWatch that many smaller blockchain-based projects fail because they do not include the time it takes to get a project off the ground. For example, IBM's latest blockchain initiative, IBM Food Trust, was a project started more than two years ago.
"If you do not work through all the main steps [governance, scalability, interoperability and confidentiality], you'll end up failing, "he said.
It is a sentiment shared by the research group: "Blockchain companies that support pilot development projects do not practice what they preach – improving transparency – sharing data and lessons learned about what works, what's wrong and why."
However, if the failure rate of blockchain-based projects is a trend rather than a blip, it may have provided a broader lesson on 21st century technology.
"But in the end it might turn out that the true value of the blockchain was not the application of the technology itself, but rather as an impulse to question what we do, why we do it and how we could do it better," the team said. search.
To read: Opinion: Bitcoin is about to become useless
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