"Decentralization is more important than blockchain"

When it comes to blockchain, opinions regarding its journey to the mainstream are divided. However, for developers, this is not necessarily the most important aspect of this technology. We met Ingo Rammer, co-founder and managing director of Thinktecture AG at the Blockchain Technology Conference 2018 to discuss the shortcomings of current blockchain infrastructures, the most common mistakes among developers and more.

"We are in a very early stage of the blockchain"

The Blockchain Technology Conference has come to an end but now is the perfect time for an overview of the most important takeaways.

We gathered enough information to keep our minds well fed until the next blockchain conference and for those of you who could not attend the conference, we streamed three key notes so you do not miss a thing. You can find them here and here.

Speaking of takeaways, we spoke with Ingo Rammer, co-founder and managing director of Thinktecture AG and speaker at the Blockchain Technology Conference, on the shortcomings of the current blockchain infrastructure, the most common pitfalls of developers, the difference between public and private blockchains and even more.

SEE ALSO: "If you make the right choices, blockchain will help you, otherwise it will become a nightmare to manage"

Here are some quotes from the interview:

• Most people are in preview [or proof-of-concept] the state of blockchain at the moment and this is important because we have so much to learn. Infrastructure providers are also in a learning state.
• We are in a very early stage of the blockchain.
• The first question you should ask is: do I really want to create a decentralized application? If the answer is yes, you will have to rethink many aspects, such as how the value is created in the system, how money is transferred, how to make money from it.
• With Ethereum, all transactions are public forever.
• There is no mining in private blockchain.
• Most private blockchain tools allow a certain type of transaction privacy.
• I prefer Hyperledger Fabric not just for technical reasons, but mainly for the Linux Foundation. I like the fact that they have a very clear governance behind their projects and the Quorum, for example, does not have such a government.
• Many people use public blockchains but do not create them.
• Private blockchains are easier but at the same time you have to decide on the whole government.
• Developers are used to being able to edit the code, but it is not possible to create Ethereum contracts in Agile mode unless you plan to do so from the beginning because, by default, you can not edit it.
• Blockchain attracts more attention than DLT (distributed ledger technology), but decentralization, not blockchain, is important.

We have received more awards from the introduction of Ingo Rammer's keynote at the Blockchain Technology Conference 2018:

Blockchain requires reliability and stability

Ingo Rammer summarized the current status of the blockchain in its keynote "Blockchain 2018 – Where are we today?". What are the questions you need to ask yourself before choosing blockchain technologies? He discussed the underlying landscape of public and private blockchain tools and the ecological and economic impact of different consensus algorithms.

Here's what we learned by putting together our technological roadmap:

• The reasons for decentralization: security, control of your data (self-sovereignty). However, we must be aware of the maturity of the technology. We are still in the early stages of learning.
• The private networks of blockchain are less experimental so their purpose is to solve the efficiency.
• Conversation blockchain public or private: in the end they will converge but it will take some years. Big blockchain can happen in the future.
• The pace will accelerate! New public chains will appear in the future along with new private chains. The choice is generally a good thing, but we must understand that some of these technologies will remain. Most of them will die before they reach maturity.
• Value creation occurs on the edge of the network, not inside. Your decentralized platform will survive, even if you go out. If it does not, it means you have not done it really created a decentralized platform.
• Can your business model run on a central database with a foreground API? Maybe you do not really need blockchain.
• Decentralization requires clear governance. You need to find a documented process for every change you make. For private networks, governance is more important than choosing a particular technology.
• You can even change your technology. Big governance models will survive this. If you do not have a governance model, you do not have a decentralized model.
• Focus on decentralization, not on blockchains.
• Search in private chains to create value. Companies love efficiency!