Why use the blockchain instead of a database? What gives tokens value?
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Today, we have blockchain projects raising hundreds blockchain app no data millions of dollars with little more than a whitepaper — no product, no traction, just an idea and some technical specifications. At the same time, however, we saw much the same in the early stages of the internet, and look where we are today.
Market speculation aside, when I look at blockchain today, I see a very exciting technology that stands to dramatically reshape our increasingly digital world. To get there, creative and enterprising developers must overcome three major limitations that exist at the very core of blockchain: Until then, the hundreds of billions in investment dollars flowing into cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin and others will remain little more than speculative bets.
While this creates massive value, it also comes at a massive cost: It also runs counter to everything we have come to expect from software systems and the general internet. While the entire infrastructure of the internet is bending toward real time, blockchain is inherently slow. If blockchain is ever going blockchain app no data achieve widespread adoption, it needs to get a lot faster.
In blockchain app no data environment, the infinite parallel execution that comes from every node on the network computing every transaction means that compute costs are extremely high. In other words, there is very little excess compute power available to the network, making it an exceptionally scarce and therefore expensive resource.
Programmers today are used to having access to cheap blockchain app no data virtually unlimited processing power. Not so with blockchain. But efficient code will only get us so far. For blockchain to gain widespread adoption, processing power blockchain app no data need to get much cheaper. Adding more computers does not solve the problem; quite the opposite.
The more computers on the network, the more nodes required to sync with the latest transaction history. Similar to the way processing power on blockchain is limited and expensive, the same goes for storage. Both of these are a consequence of every block needing to be verified and synced across every node on the network. As noted earlier, this places major limitations on processing speed and power. It also raises important questions about how to monetize storage. With cloud platforms, you pay a monthly or annual fee for up to an infinite amount of storage.
When the subscription expires, you can renew or lose access to your files i. With blockchain, this model breaks down completely. Blockchain databases store the data indefinitely; it begs the question: How can you possibly go about pricing it? The data storage costs must be paid up front and they must cover not just that month but all months and years to come. Andy Vitus is a partner at Scale Venture Partners.
