The most impressive value of Bitcoin isn’t technical, and it has nothing to do with cryptography. The Bitcoin whitepaper defined a new era of technology, but as the project came to life, it created something even more important. It’s most valuable element is its undeniable ubiquity. Bitcoin became more than a financial tool- it has evolved into a symbol of open, trustless systems that have the potential to transform the centralized world we live in.
The expanse of potential killer apps is alluring, and when exploring it’s important to remember that blockchain is much deeper than Bitcoin.
Exchanging currency is a fundamental building block of value exchange, and functions as a groundwork for more complex projects to build off. A promotion team, aggressive airdrop marketing tactician and themed QT wallet aren’t enough to create a big step forward in anything other than hype. What made Bitcoin into a phenomenon is the Idea that you don’t have to trust a bank. It pushed the limits of what was possible by adapting existing hash-linked systems for time-stamping documents into a ledger that represented an open financial fabric free for anyone to work with.
The hardest part isn’t creating intricate technical networks— it’s developing projects that step us forward in how we think and create possibilities that no one imagined. Migrating legacy systems onto “private blockchains” isn’t a glorious step forward in tech— it’s the slow trudge of updating data storage. The revolutions are going to come from challenging the way we interact with the world. We live in a time when lines of code can be put up onto a network that no single group controls. The code will run on its own, spending its money and making decisions potentially long after its creator has any control. The power to create dynamic entities and networks that don’t belong to anyone can be wielded to achieve vastly greater purposes than a pseudo-anonymous checkbook.
The classic example of pushing the limits is the Ethereum project, as it makes blockchain code execution and data storage available to any web developer. It, along with other general-use blockchains like HyperLedger, paved the road to cross-DApp communication and truly opened up the technology in an accessible way. By abstracting the blockchain functionality into a multipurpose toolkit, general use blockchains set the stage for a new internet. The key is hanging on to the ambition and fire that got us here in the first place! The future is bright with possibilities and we can’t wait to see what’s next!
