On the other hand I'm pretty sure my other idea about the blockchain must be bullshit. I mean, it has 'blockchain' in it; I would assume dumb or scam the minute I saw it on any random blog, and I'm not sure why I should pretend of myself better standards. So I see it as an exercise in finding out why my intuition is wrong. It could be useful to think about the errors of reasoning I'm prone to.

Blockchain

• A [[technology]].
• Patently [[useful]]. Can be used to build [[distributed systems]].
  • [[cryptocurrency]]
  • [[voting]]
• Often a [[joke]] in technology circles because of the amount of hype it's amassed.

Blockchain

Lots of hype, tarnished by crypto-libertarianism and environmental impacts of e.g. [[Bitcoin]], but interesting technology nonetheless. [[Distributed ledger]]s of one sort or another could be used for beneficial purposes (see e.g. [[DisCOs]]).

Both blockchain and digital currencies offer a great deal of potential, but Bitcoin itself is a deflationary, capitalist medium that functions primarily as an investment asset to concentrate wealth, and is mostly favored by right-libertarian hard money ideologues.

– Center for a Stateless Society » Review: A DisCO Manifesto

However, the really interesting point about Bitcoin is not the currency itself, but rather the fact that its protocol – the blockchain – can be used to implement many other applications which have nothing to do with money.

– Ethereum: Freenet or Skynet? - Guerrilla Translation!

Blockchain's one way of implementing [[digital cash]].

Environmental impact

If you understand the difference between [[Proof of Work]] and [[Proof of Stake]], then you should see that PoS blockchains don't have the horrendous problem that PoW do. Sure, they consume some energy, just like any other computing. But not on principle, as with PoW.

• https://twitter.com/interstar/status/1455272029091926019 pull

The 15 Most Sustainable Cryptocurrencies for 2021 - LeafScore

[[Blockchain for the political left]]

blockchain

Blockchain is a data structure that allows for the creation of verifiable, decentralized ledgers. Blockchain is the technology that undergirds [[cryptocurrency]], and was introduced first by [[Bitcoin]].