Conversation

In 2018 the blockchain/decentralization story fell apart. For example, a study of 43 use cases found a 0% success rate. theregister.co.uk/2018/11/30/blo Let's talk about some mistaken assumptions about decentralization that led to the blockchain hype, and what we can learn from them.
Blockchain proponents have a vision of _society_ in which centralized entities are weakened/eliminated. But blockchain tech is a way to build _software_ without centralized servers. Why would the latter enable the former? It’s a leap of logic that’s left unexplained.
15
378
There’s a widespread belief in the blockchain world that centralization results from government regulation and/or monopolistic rent-seeking. The truth is more mundane: centralization emerges naturally in a free market due to economies of scale and other efficiencies.
17
624
If there were a conspiracy, then blockchains might be a good answer. But, as Steve Jobs realized in the context of network TV, what we’ve got is what people want.
Image
12
437
Open platforms can’t win by directly appealing to users on philosophical grounds, or even cost (see Linux on the desktop). Mainstream users have no good reason to directly interact with blockchain technology—or any piece of code—without intermediaries involved.
4
203
Openness and decentralization matter to _developers_. To succeed, decentralized platforms must attract developers and foster an ecosystem of services that build on each other and gradually improve in functionality and quality. That’s how the Internet beat Compuserve and AOL.
6
223
But this process has to happen organically and will take decades. It can't be rushed with VC/ICO money. What blockchain companies are doing today is as if Internet companies had tried to compete against print newspapers in the 80s. The supporting infrastructure just wasn’t there.
3
176
Smart contracts are really cool, but they're neither smart nor contracts. freedom-to-tinker.com/2017/02/20/sma The fact that they are being proposed as replacements for legal contracts with a straight face is emblematic of the category errors that are rampant in the blockchain space.
14
371