Blockchain is not only crappy technology but a bad vision for the future

This piece by Kai Stinchcombe on why blockchain is a terrible idea is pretty dang quotable—he tackles the crazy idea that blockchain is a magical technology wand that you can wave around and solve the “trust problem” between groups of people. My favorite point is this one though:

A lawless and mistrustful world where self-interest is the only principle and paranoia is the only source of safety is a not a paradise but a crypto-medieval hellhole.

I’ve sat and talked with blockchain enthusiasts over dinner, I’ve shared their homes for an evening, I’ve looked them in the eye when they start their spiel about why this technology will save the world. And quite frankly I don’t believe a damn word they say. You cannot possibly believe that blockchain, and the currencies that sit on top of it, will solve our problems with financial intermediaries and at the same time invest your life savings in *–coin. It’s insane, desperate, and impossibly naïve. And I believe this is the only article that’s explained why I despise the whole venture from top to bottom.