Blockchain: Quantum leap forward or digital snake oil?

Blockchain, the technology on which Bitcoin is based, has gone mainstream. Until recently a subject confined to tech blogs and Reddit pages, it is earning huge amounts of column inches and airtime. Stories abound of Bitcoin millionaires and multimillion-dollar ICOs (Initial Coin Offerings). New cryptocurrencies are launched every week. People who don’t entirely understand what they’re buying are rushing to purchase Bitcoin for fear of missing out. And then there are the Bitcoin Cassandras, who say they’ve seen this sort of frenzy many times before and warn of impending bust even as new investors stampede towards this digital gold rush.

But what is blockchain anyway? Think of it as a digital ledger that records transactions in an immutable way for all to see. Or, as the Bank of England puts it: ‘A technology that allows people who don’t know each other to trust a shared record of events.’ That’s a phraseology that underplays just how exciting and transformational many think blockchain technology is.

Blockchain evangelists say cryptocurrencies are just the start of its usefulness and that the fate of Bitcoin is beside the point. They urge us to think of blockchain today in similar terms to the internet in 1995 – a thrilling and versatile technology that will revolutionise everything, sweeping away centralised authorities and finally delivering on the anti-establishment ideals of the early web. Startups have emerged in every sector – from finance to food sourcing to corruption-proof voting systems – aiming to displace incumbents with new blockchain-based models.

So is blockchain the revolutionary new paradigm its adherents claim, or just an elegant solution in search of a problem? With the movement’s grand claims for the future, overheated rhetoric and tendency to inspire major leaps of faith, is it assuming aspects of a cultish religion? Does blockchain really have the potential to do away with the system of centralised governments and corporations its biggest fans so distrust, or will it just be co-opted by them? And with the cryptocurrency network now consuming more power than some countries, is blockchain headed for a showdown with environmentalists?

To unpack exactly how blockchain works and explore these questions, Intelligence Squared brought together leading evangelists and sceptics, with the BBC’s Kamal Ahmed in the chair.

[LughSummerson]

Great discussion. As a layman, I am still confused, but now I'm confused about more aspects and in more detail.

[HarveyShankar]

That PowerPoint presentation was so cringy, then she started fiddling with the padlocks and I shook my head in embarrassment

[forex_shark]

It's neither a quantum leap forward or snake oil. It's a reasonable but important step towards progress based on technology that has been in the works for a very long time.

[setisuafa]

yay. no more lawyers! That would be an ideal world.

[TejasPotnis]

Good debate between very diverse perspectives. Although, focused solely on the governing and finance (Bitcoin) aspect of the blockchain. The too extreme sides, left out the obvious usefulness of blockchain in business, trade and daily life.

[marksip]

A simple blockchain example can be coded in JavaScript i.e The hash of the previous block is carried forward into the next block - i see blockchain in simple terms as a distributed ledger

[donnarhodes]

Is this the movie ?( Tales From The Crypt ). Is there a grave stone sitting there writing this script and laughing all the way to the vault ?

[setisuafa]

Surely...an ideal conscience must be the central core. Relying on Fallen human nature will always bring demerits to the system? An organic system must have a central mind which balances whole and individual purpose.

[bradynields]

I have nothing against David, in sure he's a great guy I just see his participation in this space as sterile distant and at best irrelevant.

[HebaruSan]

Once the twenty-one millionth bitcoin is created, how will new transactions happen? I thought the incentive to do the "proof of work" was to have the chance to get free bitcoin. How can that happen if no more can be created? Will there be a "musical chairs" moment past which you're stuck with whatever bitcoins you have?

[johncook]

I feel sorry for the judges of the future

[UvstudioCaToronto]

So none of the panelists actually worked in blockchain. Wonderful.

[HebaruSan]

OK, so "everyone" has a copy of all the previous transactions.
What stops two servers from accepting different "next" transactions?

[HebaruSan]

Easy way to ban cryptocurrencies: exponential taxes on electricity. First 1000 kWh/mo per customer is normal price, quadruple the price for every doubling past that. Tweak the rates and you can make those huge wasteful server farms arbitrarily unprofitable.

[antikokalis]

This lady's voice is cute and annoying at the same time

[ohausk]

You lost me at “coders in flips flops huhuhuhu”

[bradynields]

25:06 Ethereum is immutable? What about the DAO hack?

[markszawlowski]

Instead oof someone explaining blockchain in a French accent, perhaps they could have got Mick Jagger to sing it instead.

[youtubetroll]

You make money, until the stock goes down, when people start cashing out, and no else is buying bitcoin, is when all the problems start... not to mention the tax implications.

[donnarhodes]

( Bitcoin ?) = Praying to an invisible God Is there Hope in that coin ? Is there Faith in that coin ? This coin’s acceptance at the moment has been left in the doubting Thomas role in people ?!!. The meeting in The Upper Room ! Christ is going to enter The Room !.