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Comment by alanfalcon | Hacker News Reader

In this whole thread, there's not one mention of the word "scarcity". Blockchain allows for digital scarcity. For me, the problems that blockchain solves, it solves through the creation and enforcement of real digital scarcity.

I find that it's not hard to imagine some problems that exist due to the lack of digital scarcity (pre-blockchain). I invite you to open your mind and imagine some for yourself.

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I don’t understand what this ‘scarcity’ would mean. And you give no relevant examples.

Scarcity meaning that if person A owns it, person B/C/D etc. cannot, because (in this example) there is only one. Most digital files are infinitely copyable, and there aren't good DRM solutions for managing this conundrum that actually give real ownership rights to the owner... until blockchain.

Why is this a problem? Ask a creative content creator.

How is blockchain solving this in practice? One example: https://www.niftygateway.com/

I'm sorry, this doesn't make sense to me. If I buy an image, no block chain is going to stop me from making copies. I see no explanation on how this would work.

It's not explained well but this allows you to own the "original" photo/painting/document, etc. in a provable way. An artist could offer a limited edition digital "print" and you could collect it, exhibit it and resell it because your ownership is certifiably authentic.

If you don't think that's valuable, consider the value that humans put on first edition books, signed original works, ownership of exclusive editions, etc. Everyone can own a copy of "To Kill a Mockingbird" or "Dune" for a few dollars but signed, first editions goes for thousands of dollars.

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