Why Blockchain is Hard

What is a blockchain?

The main thing distinguishing a blockchain from a normal database is that there are specific rules about how to put data into the database. That is, it cannot conflict with some other data that’s already in the database (consistent), it’s append-only (immutable), and the data itself is locked to an owner (ownable), it’s replicable and available. Finally, everyone agrees on what the state of the things in the database are (canonical) without a central party (decentralized).

The Cost of Blockchains

Development is stricter and slower

Incentive structures are difficult to design

Maintenance is very costly

Users are sovereign

All upgrades are voluntary

Scaling is really hard
Centralization is a lot easier

Full story
Jimmy Song
May 14, 2018