> Any application that could be done on a blockchain could be better done on a centralized database. Except crime.
The opening quote in the article captures it all for me, except the last part. The implied definition of crime is so narrow.
From what I know of the financial markets in the US, mortgages and other loans as well as more esoteric financial instruments -- it's all moving in the direction of Ponzi schemes and get-rich-quick scams. I'd go as far as saying that it is all in fact a big organized crime circuit, if you're just a little flexible in the definition of crime (mostly in the part where crime usually has consequences, but the really big crooks have found a reliable way to "socialize" the consequences of them getting theirs).
In that light, having a public, transparent ledger of all the "important" transactions at the top levels could help reduce the amount of routine white-collar crime that goes on. Perhaps it is not explicitly criminal in nature - or it is, but the offenders have far too many resources to be held accountable -- but all the same it's harmful to society at large. An idealist can dream of a system where these actors can be scrutinized, and named-and-shamed into some kind of socially responsible behaviour.
The opening quote in the article captures it all for me, except the last part. The implied definition of crime is so narrow.
From what I know of the financial markets in the US, mortgages and other loans as well as more esoteric financial instruments -- it's all moving in the direction of Ponzi schemes and get-rich-quick scams. I'd go as far as saying that it is all in fact a big organized crime circuit, if you're just a little flexible in the definition of crime (mostly in the part where crime usually has consequences, but the really big crooks have found a reliable way to "socialize" the consequences of them getting theirs).
In that light, having a public, transparent ledger of all the "important" transactions at the top levels could help reduce the amount of routine white-collar crime that goes on. Perhaps it is not explicitly criminal in nature - or it is, but the offenders have far too many resources to be held accountable -- but all the same it's harmful to society at large. An idealist can dream of a system where these actors can be scrutinized, and named-and-shamed into some kind of socially responsible behaviour.