Can We Trust the Blockchain Headlines of PR Firms, VCs, Corporatists and Banksters?

Since the beginning of 2015, the word blockchain has become associated with a lot of hype, as many believe the technology will transform the world of finance and everything in between. Bitcoin is typically dismissed, even though it has proven to be a real world solution providing utility to many people. Private blockchains, however, have yet to show any real uses cases outside of a press statement.

Also read: Norwegian Prosecutors Seek 120 Bitcoins in Court Restitutions

Private Blockchain Projects Have Successfully Proved They Are Good at Making Headlines and Nothing Else

You’ve seen the headlines time and time again saying how a big bank or corporation has applied blockchain technology to a traditional settlement or some kind of business service. According to hundreds of press releases and articles, many companies like IBM, Microsoft, Visa, and many others have completed trials using privatized versions of distributed ledger technology. Unfortunately, that’s all you get to see as these blockchain projects never supply charts, statistics, video or any real proof of these so-called “real world” applications. What you do get is a bucket of word salad from these project creators and executives explaining that blockchain will revolutionize the world.

For instance, last summer seven big European banks revealed a blockchain-based trade finance platform with a fancy name called Digital Trade Chain. The platform “could launch” at some point during 2017, and so far the trial pilot had been “successful” the banks explained. “This successful DTC trial shows that blockchain technology offers a number of opportunities that we want to continue testing and developing,” explained Luc Gijsens, of KBC Group International Markets at the time. According to the press release importers and exporters were super thrilled with how easy the technology was to use and the “clear transaction process.” The creators explained the DTC could also be used on a desktop, mobile phone or tablet.

There have been so many of these ‘blockchain trials’ published by the media they could fill a large library. Besides the headlines and the 500-800 word articles of fluff, there is basically no evidence these blockchain pilots have done anything — Unless we want to take their word for it.

The Bitcoin Protocol Comes With Real World Applications and Actual Proof

Now the Bitcoin protocol, on the other hand, has a significant amount of real world proven use cases and actual statistics every single day. There are a ton of charts, websites, blockchain explorers, and more covering everything bitcoin does, at all times. There are clear examples of actual use cases, of people utilizing bitcoin’s benefits in nearly every country in the world. The Bitcoin blockchain is light years ahead of word salad press releases and bank executives worshipping blockchain technology in their highlighted quotes.

For instance, Bitcoin.com recently reported on how Bitcoin the number of projects on Github have now crossed over 10,000 and continue to grow. Bitcoin’s hashrate is a phenomenal 3,451,438,901 GH/s and is measured by many statistical data websites. Statistics can be applied to the decentralized currency’s volatility, transaction count, mining difficulty, node proliferation, and so on. The list of real world documentation of the Bitcoin blockchain is recorded daily and is completely open to the public at all times.

"Major banks complete first international transaction using a blockchain"

You mean, the same thing bitcoin has done several million times?

— Andreas (@aantonop) October 24, 2016

Can We Trust the Headlines of PR Firms, VCs, Corporatists and Banksters?

How can we trust these blockchains, being built and tested behind closed doors, have actually accomplished anything? Especially when many of them are operated by the very banks that have manipulated and tarnished the existing financial system we know of today. Nearly every one of these new blockchain project creators say their ‘inventions’ will make traditional trade finance obsolete, but yet these incumbents also wish to remain watchdogs of our economy. Their plans are just as centralized as they are today, with an added buzz word bonus called blockchain.

The fact is not one of these private distributed ledger projects created by VCs, banks and corporations have proven anything. Minus the fact that they wish to continue ruling the world economy and they think if they use the word blockchain enough times, maybe people will take them more seriously.

What do you think about the hundreds of headlines that claim real world use cases by utilizing blockchain technology? Let us know in the comments below.

Images courtesy of Shutterstock, Pixabay, and Bitcoin.com

Have you seen the Bitcoin.com store yet? We have fascinating Bitcoin-related items and cryptocurrency swag at our store. Get some today, so you can show them off to all of your friends. 

The post Can We Trust the Blockchain Headlines of PR Firms, VCs, Corporatists and Banksters? appeared first on Bitcoin News.