Post-blockchain...where things are moving as Bitcoin won't cut it for the longer term (1 Viewer)

[Bill]

Bitcoin - I'm a fan. It is the poster-child for thinking differently about our currency and the way things work in the economy. It's a highly disruptive catalyst for change, and that is, I believe, for the good.

Yet Bitcoin, and the blockchain technology on which it and other crypto-currencies are being built, has some fundamental weaknesses. A second wave of alternatives to fiat currencies are actively being developed that address the weaknesses inherent in the design of the blockchain. And not just for currencies but for even broader exchange-of-value uses.

The attached article discusses Holochain and how it is being designed to address the weaknesses in blockchain and why it has a much broader potential. A fundamental I find especially attractive is a design that gives control of their information and it's use to individuals rather than a centralized entity that can do with it what it wants (think Facebook, Google, or the like).

This is an evolving area and early days. And with some opportunities for those with the inclination and capability to act early, prudently, on their convictions. Educating ourselves on holochain and other emerging alternatives to blockchain is a good investment, at both a societal and personal level. Some risk, you bet. If you want change for the better, then change for the better.

https://medium.com/holochain/building-responsible-cryptocurrencies-d45d7d2173ed

 

[Laron]

I'm wondering if current cryptos could eventually be migrated over to other types of chains, like holochain, once they become more established and supported in the long run. So Bitcoin to Holochain for example.

I assume it's not possible though, as Bitcoin was programmed and designed using the chain built into its software foundation, so this would mean different cryptos may take the lead eventually, which support the most popular chain.

 

[Bill]

I'm wondering if current cryptos could eventually be migrated over to other types of chains, like holochain, once they become more established and supported in the long run. ...

Laron it will be quite interesting to see how this evolves. My perspective at this point is there will be a happy co-existence between blockchain and holochain type of infrastructures. Each serving the specific needs it is best suited to support. For blockchain where the particular crypto-coin (e.g., Bitcoin) is best suited as a store-of-value (and less so as a transactional currency) then use of the existing blockchain infrastructure may be appropriate. And all the investment and mind-share created by the rise in value of crypto-coins is not going to just disappear overnight. But blockchain is not so well suited for other purposes (inefficient, expensive to operate and quite limited transactional volume and speed) and in those instances development on a holochain type infrastructure may be more desirable.

So, my take at this point is they will co-exist, each serving their own constituents for which they are best suited. I do believe that there will also be a means created to transfer value between the worlds of blockchain and holochain. We'll see!

 

[Lila]

"Cryptocurrencies do not have to be gambling tokens created from nothing. They can be responsibly connected to assets, promises, or real-world value. They don’t have to re-create all the speculative money problems that they were supposed to be solving."
This is my favourite concept from the article.

"Currency design should be optimized to be a medium of exchange or a store of value, but not both."
This one also seems worthy of a ponder or 2...

Sounds like there is still some stuff to work out, like some of the assumptions and realities of how mutual credit would work.
I like that the idea is out there and being discussed!

This is another key idea I would love to see implemented wisely: "Suffice it to say that it is designed to move slower and to be correlated to real world value which grows not because of speculation or perception, but because of actual growth of the asset itself."... and an example:
"As a simple example, imagine a tree-banking currency designed to invest in sustainable growth of tropical hardwoods — as long as there are humans building things, it is likely that hardwoods like teak will be valuable. Imagine converting to tree-banking credits which employ people to steward rainforest and replant zones and sustainably harvest hardwoods."

... and my final smile comes from this: "Imagine easily transferring resources where they’re needed without being gouged by foreign transaction fees, ATM fees, wire fees, delays, and paperwork."