Ask HN: Am I going insane or is there genuinely no value in blockchain tech?
130 by ak_111 | 165 comments on Hacker News.
I tried hard to understand the space and some of the ways in which the technology works, but after many hours of investment I am still unable to alleviate my scepticism that this entire space is vapourware, there is nothing here more than you can get with traditional database technology? At the same time, the amount of coverage and attention it is getting and for a sustained period makes me believe I am missing something. After all there are few instances of technology fads that have sustained such serious interest for a prolonged period of time (approaching a decade now) with little to show for in terms of investment returns or societal impact. I am talking committees formed in parliaments and central banks around the world to discuss its benefits, serious universities dedicating whole programs on the subject, elite investors pouring money into its potential, and the list goes on. So far the most charitable explanation I could come up with for the craze is that it is an effective rebranding for marketing purposes of database technologies, similar to how "data science" rebranded statistics and business analytics. On the other hand "data science" even if it is merely rebranding did arguably lead to significant change in tooling/workflows in how data is consumed and presented in corporates around the world, no such thing could be said of blockchain. Where am I going wrong? I am particularly keen to hear from people who underwent the journey from skeptics to believers in the space.
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