Key Takeaways
- 01Blockchain has a small number of legitimate security uses and a much larger set of failed proposals where a database would have been correct. The criteria for when blockchain genuinely wins are narrow.
- 02When blockchain is the right tool: cryptographic provenance across organizational boundaries that do not trust a central party, notarization of evidence (transparency logs, certificate transparency, audit trails), tokenization where the underlying asset is digital and the trust model is decentralized.
- 03When a database is the right answer: internal data sharing within an organization, inter-organizational data sharing where one party can be the trusted operator, identity systems where the user wants recovery from a single party. Each works better with a properly secured database than with a blockchain.
- 04Certificate transparency as the success story: CT logs are an append-only Merkle-tree backed system that has materially improved web PKI security. Clearest example of the right shape — cryptographic guarantees of inclusion across mutually distrusting parties, with auditable history.
Blockchain has a small number of legitimate security uses and a much larger set of failed proposals where a database would have been correct. The criteria for when blockchain genuinely wins are narrow.
When blockchain is the right tool
- 01Cryptographic provenance across organizational boundaries that do not trust a central party
- 02Notarization of evidence (transparency logs, certificate transparency, audit trails)
- 03Tokenization where the underlying asset is digital and the trust model is decentralized
When a database is the right answer
Internal data sharing within an organization. Inter-organizational data sharing where one party can be the trusted operator. Identity systems where the user wants recovery from a single party. Each of these works better with a properly secured database than with a blockchain.
Certificate transparency as the success story
CT logs are an append-only Merkle-tree backed system that has materially improved web PKI security. They are the clearest example of the right shape: cryptographic guarantees of inclusion across mutually distrusting parties, with auditable history.
#Blockchain#Distributed Ledger#Provenance