[Cryptography] [FORGED] Schneier in Wired: There's No Good Reason to Trust Blockchain Technology

[Peter Gutmann]

John Levine <johnl at iecc.com> writes:

>Nothing particularly new here, just reminding us why whatever problems public
>blockchains solve, they are not problems you have.

Yup, and it points out an important feature about trust in conventional
financial mechanisms: If something goes wrong with a conventional mechanism, I
trust that the bank or credit card company, or ultimately the courts and/or
government regulators, will sort it out.  That's worked for centuries.

The blockchain on the other hand is the car without seatbelts and brakes of
the financial system.  If something goes wrong with a blockchain-based
mechanism, I trust that I'm screwed.

Enthusiasm for blockchain seems to follow a pattern of being inversely
proportional to the enthusiasts knowledge of how large-scale financial systems
work (with the occasional exception of people who are aware of how they work
but have thrown in the blockchain because it'll get then funding).

Peter.