“Blockchain has been hyped up”
(Repost from ETH News) ETH Professor Roger Wattenhofer discusses how blockchain, bitcoin and digitalisation may affect our society.
ETH News: You expressed reservations when blockchain was mentioned as the topic for this interview. Why is that?
Roger Wattenhofer: The topic is exciting, but there is a bit too much hype surrounding the term “blockchain”. I get questions about it every day, from all directions – from the media, private individuals, and companies. I’ve never been a more popular professor (smiling).
If you search the internet for information about it, you get the impression that blockchain is going to turn the world upside down. Is the topic overvalued?
At the moment, yes, but it will wear off. A blockchain involves several important technical discoveries, particularly in the areas of distributed computing and cryptography. I assume that many people have only become aware of what is currently possible with technology as a result of the blockchain hype. The concept of digital signatures, for example, has also entered public consciousness thanks to the term “blockchain”.
As a layperson, one nevertheless gets the impression that it’s time to jump on the bandwagon before it’s too late.
Part of the popularity of blockchains has to do with the buzz surrounding bitcoin. Bitcoin is important, and cryptocurrencies will change the world – I’m certain of that.
How does a blockchain work?
The term is used in different ways. Some people use it in a narrow sense, as a tool for bitcoin – in other words, a sort of internet bank for transferring and storing money virtually. A broader definition of a blockchain is a digital bookkeeping system. A “chain of blocks” is used to execute and store all kinds of transactions in a fault-tolerant way – for example, money transfers, marriage certificates, ownership changes for properties, etc.
What’s the advantage of that?
A bitcoin blockchain is “glasnost”: Anyone can monitor which transactions are completed and when. Whoever is behind the transactions, however, is encrypted. A blockchain therefore offers an interesting opportunity for transparent administration.
See the full article in ETH News