The Blockchain
“To understand the power of blockchain systems, and the things they can do, it is
important to distinguish between three things that are commonly muddled up, namely
the bitcoin currency, the specific blockchain that underpins it and the idea of
blockchains in general.”
The Trust Machine. THE ECONOMIST, Oct. 31, 2015
Blockchain technology is a software; a protocol for the secure
transfer of unique instances of value (e.g. money, property,
contracts, and identity credentials) via the internet without
requiring a third-party intermediary such as a bank or government
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UNDERSTANDING INTEGRITY AND TRUST
To understand the value of blockchain it’s helpful to first
consider the basic concept of value exchange. If we go back
to the early days, people traded goods in person through
barter. Both parties were able to see and verify what
they would be receiving — your banana for my apple. The
certainty, or integrity, of the process was validated by the
ability to see and touch the goods to be traded.
PART ONE
Blockchain makes it
technically possible
to ensure the integrity
of information and
the process of
exchanging it.
PART Y 1 PART Y 2
Process does not
have INTEGRITY
Intermediary substitutes integrity
with TRUST
But as people sought to exchange larger quantities of goods over longer
distances, things got more complicated. Merchants couldn’t necessarily trust
that the expected goods would arrive as promised, nor was it practical to
personally inspect the entire contents of a wagon or ship before a trade could
happen. It was no longer possible for parties to ensure the integrity of
a transaction.
So intermediaries emerged to play that role. They built reputations as trusted
agents who, for a fee, would vouch for a transaction on behalf of the trading
parties. This was true not only for commercial transactions, but also for the
communication of all kinds of sensitive information. Trust became the stand-in
for the shortcomings and vulnerabilities of the process. [MARSH & McLENNAN]
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Wow! Super great
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