Blockchain will stay a buzzword until everyone unites behind one chain

Published on by Cointele | Published on

Mentioned in this article
Despite being, perhaps, the biggest tech buzzword of the last decade, blockchain technology has largely remained just that: a buzzword.

Rather than a collective push to build advancements only on the Bitcoin blockchain, we've instead seen a clamor to build too many alternate blockchain platforms.

Resources that could have been used to scale the Bitcoin blockchain and develop new applications of its underlying technology have instead been applied to proliferating thousands of competing digital currencies and hundreds of alternate blockchain or distributed ledger technologies, driven by the pursuit of quick riches from launching a new venture's own coin yet diversified by little more than three-letter ticker symbols.

Our understanding of blockchain technology and its immense potential has largely failed to progress beyond its original use case for peer-to-peer electronic cash.

Despite promises of a future in which smart contracts, identity management systems and data are all powered by the Bitcoin blockchain as part of everyday life, progress remains quantified solely by lines on trading charts.

Therein lies the issue with the development, so far, of blockchain technology.

In a rush to capitalize on a growing wave of speculative investment, the numerous new attempted blockchains and distributed ledgers to emerge after Bitcoin have brought with them different variations of blockchain protocols, forcing competition not just on the price of their competing digital currencies but on entire network rulesets and ecosystems.

It's time to get serious about the future of blockchain technology.

Jimmy Nguyen is the founding president of the Bitcoin Association, the global industry organization that advances the Bitcoin SV digital currency and blockchain.

A well-known advocate for Bitcoin, he was most previously the CEO of nChain - a leader in the research and development of enterprise-grade blockchain solutions.

x