I always want to answer a question, which pushes me to learn more about Blockchain technology. It is, “Will blockchain become the next-generation Internet?” I want to compare it to the Internet to find the answer.
What’re the essential inventions in the entire human history? I would say they are paper and currency. Because the paper is the solution for saving, expressing, and transmitting information, and the currency is the solution for saving, expressing, and conveying value. Now everyone knows the Internet is the more advanced solution to make information transmission efficient and effective. And what blockchain is doing is trying to give a solution to transmitting trust in a real-time way, and trust is a form of value.
Internet: A Revolution of Information Transmission
In the past ten years, the Internet wave has been irresistible and has impacted the social structure and economic system. Because of the Internet, our lifestyle has been changed dramatically. The reason is that the Internet provides a solution for efficient and stable transmission of information. For example, we might have to go to the station to buy train tickets, but now we only use our mobile phones to move our fingers. Previously, the company’s upstream and downstream reimbursement needs to transfer the papers, but now with the digital system and computerized accounting, the company can easily retrieve information from the resource management system and improve efficiency. From word of mouth to text, to book printing, to the Internet, every reform of information transmission has brought about significant changes to human society. But as strong as the Internet, it cannot solve the problem of value transmission. The issue of value transmissions such as copyright and credit becomes difficult due to the low-cost copy of the information on the Internet. At this time, a global and efficient value transmission system is expected.
Blockchain: A Revolution of Value Transmission
The birth of Bitcoin is by no means an accident. In addition to the integration of the previous digital currency system, the deeper reason is that itself and the blockchain that carries Bitcoin have met people’s need for efficient and stable transmission and exchange of value. For example, from the physical currency of the shell to the gold standard of the US dollar, and then from the currency of the credit currency to the current electronic payment like AliPay or Paypal, human value transmission has also gone through many years. But because of relying on third-party credit endorsements and a globally decentralized currency system, our value transfer system has not always been so efficient, so the blockchain was born, and it came to solve this problem and got everyone’s attention.
From a development perspective, Bitcoin may be an inevitable accident, Satoshi Nakamoto may not necessarily propose it, or it may not be named. However, in terms of trends, so many people have worked for such a system, and some people have merged it after seeing the system they proposed. The birth of such a system should be inevitable. Another critical factor is that the development of Moore’s Law and the Internet has provided us with a large amount of information storage and exchange capabilities; otherwise, Satoshi Nakamoto would not have thought that each node has all the transaction records. After all, this is not an elegant and concise solution, but no doubt a practical solution.
Optimal Solutions V.S. Effective Solutions
In fact, in the history of human development, the development of science and technology may not be the optimal solution. Our modern civilization is based on electricity, and information civilization is based on electricity and the Internet. As far as the Internet is concerned, it is efficient and convenient, but there may still be redundant protocols and some shortcomings. It is by no means an optimal solution from the perspective of God for information transmission, but it is the most effective solution for human beings. Similarly, the blockchain is built on the Internet. Such a distributed ledger in which everyone has all the information is redundant. After all, it is not a technology of simplicity. Still, at the expense of that simplicity, we got the high efficiency of value transmission, so no one can stop this advantage, but can only accept it as the mainstream.
Blockchain technology has the potential to change the business world, but whether it can disrupt the entire business landscape as the Internet depends on the constant maturity and development of the technology. Technology and commercial applications are two horse-drawn carriages. Although blockchain technology has developed to a certain extent and blockchain applications have also emerged endlessly. There is no doubt that we have a long way to go. Nowadays, most people are too impatient and want to apply this new technology to make money quickly continuously.
People always overestimate the short-term value and underestimate the long-term value.
We believe in its potential, but we must also work hard to promote the development of technology. Without a solid technical foundation, the business world we build will only be a castle in the air.
Finally, answer the question posed by the title: Will Blockchain become the next-generation Internet? My answer is: it does have this potential, but it still needs patience and careful cultivation. And I would like to push the process of development and make the solution come earlier.
