The public thinks Bitcoin is the currency of hackers. Decentralized, technical, innovative and challenging the whole financial backbone. In reality... We have threads like this. Never seen so much hate for Bitcoin as on HN.
Bitcoin itself may end up being worthless or being a fortune. The block-chain technology is the revolutionary part that is here to stay and will only continue to grow in the future.
If you've followed crypto and blockchain for long enough though, you realize that the risks are high and the value is low. It's a shitty technology, and a shitty investment. The cryptoverse is filled with volatility, no real-world "thing" to tie value back to, and scams upon scams.
Blockchain is an innefficient, energy-guzzling excuse for a database. Oh but you forgot its decentralized So what? Most applications don't need decentralization - it makes them inefficient and slow. Why do you think the general trend of the world has been centralization into hubs, cities, and services? Here's a nice refuter of the blockchain hype:
http://doyouneedablockchain.com/
And of course, the classic:
blockchain is more than a distributed database. in a distributed database someone is still in charge and can make decisions unilaterally about how the data is altered.
in blockchain you have a bunch of entities that can transact with each other with zero trust and without the need of a central authority. that is the truly innovative aspect of the blockchain and what sets it apart.
the way this is done is not unlike any system that uses event sourcing (including the distributed databases that you worship).
here is a killer use case for blockchain: supply chain management with a lot of entities and lack of trust. smart contracts are a thing.
also, there are blockchain implementation that are really performant (don’t get stuck on bitcoin)
This tells me you know zero about supply chain management.
https://www2.deloitte.com/us/en/pages/operations/articles/bl...
https://hbr.org/2020/05/building-a-transparent-supply-chain
https://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article/blockchain-suppl...
It mutated into a sort of global pyramid scheme that consumes >0.5% of the world's energy consumption to perform deliberately useless calculations.
Modern bitcoin isn't even about blockchain. Most people just put money in their exchange, click the exchange button, and watch the number go up and down. Never even touches the blockchain. It's all about speculation and convincing others to become the next layer in the pyramid of hodlers.
Modern Bitcoin isn't about tech or distributed systems or challenging the financial system (with $8 transaction fees that go to mining companies and exchange fees that skim every trade). It's been captured by the financial system and pumped as a speculative investment, all so financial institutions and giant mining operations can profit off of the frenzy.