The usage of blockchain technology has been widely debated, and a lot of people still feel there is more hype to this technology than anything else. Gartner fellow Ray Valdes took things even further, by stating how 2016 is the year f “pointless blockchain projects”. Moreover, he is not a big believer in the future of this technology either. An interesting take on things, but could he be right?
Ever since the concept of blockchain technology has been around, two camps have emerged. There are those who believe this technology is the future and those who don’t. Gartner fellow Ray Valdes definitely belongs in the second category, as he strongly feels blockchain is too overhyped at this stage.
Do not be mistaken in thinking he does not see the value of the technology, though. Valdes stated how blockchain is “one of the most secure technologies” he has ever seen. In fact, he was quite surprised the technology powering Bitcoin lasted this long, despite its immaturity and lack of proper understanding.
While a lot of companies claim to offer blockchain-based solutions and projects, very few have anything to do with this technology. This is not doing the ecosystem any favors, as it leads to more scrutiny for those projects which are using the blockchain correctly. In addition, a lot of projects are small-scale proof-of-concepts that will never see the light of day.
What is rather interesting is how Valdes feels blockchain projects in closed environments will have little to no future. These private and permissioned solutions lack the trust that is inherent to blockchain technology in the first place. There is very little difference between private blockchains and traditional databases at this point, according to Valdes.
Centralized blockchain hubs, such as Microsoft and IBM, have no real added value either, in Valdes’ opinion. Decentralized technology should not be accessed through centralized platforms, yet for some reason, that seems to be the way forward right now. Experimenting with Bitcoin technology is a must, but the core values of the blockchain must be upheld. That means focusing on an open framework with a permissionless nature.
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