Blockchains Are a Bad Idea (James Mickens)

Caption notes

James Mickens starts with what an application needs and asks whether the design of a Bitcoin-style blockchain fits. Medical licensing and supply-chain records are his examples of systems where there may be many readers but relatively few writers, often organizations whose identities are known. He distinguishes recording facts about the world from executing rules on a ledger, and suggests choosing mechanisms such as digital signatures to make records verifiable.