My response to QZ article about Blockchain and cryptocurrency regulations in India
This is the article we’ll be discussing here today https://qz.com/india/1354252/indias-cryptocurrency-regulations-will-likely-come-by-end-of-2018/
The article has quotes from people in the government. I was out yesterday for some family function due to which I wasn’t available to provide my quotes for this article.
Let’s focus on the below statement in the article:
That’s because a finance ministry panel is still evaluating how to treat blockchain and cryptocurrencies separately
If you were to read this statement to someone who understands blockchain technology then their first sane answer to this would be :
A public blockchain cannot exist without cryptocurrencies. That’s technically impossible today. If someone in the government is planning to develop a new technology that enables a public blockchain without cryptocurrencies, then all the best to them. But, in the entire world of technology, no one has been able to do it yet. And no one is trying either because the people who understand technology also understand what is possible and what is impossible to achieve from a technological point of view.
I would like to elaborate further on the above thought so that, if at all someone from the panel is reading this then they can take a better decision.
Blockchain is a database like any other databases out there including MySQL, PostgreSQL, Bigtable, Aerospike etc.
However, it differentiates itself by allowing this database to be put out publicly and still protecting and preventing unauthorized access with the help of cryptocurrency.
You remove the cryptocurrency and put this in the public domain and you will not be able to prevent unwanted changes to this database. Which means, without a cryptocurrency to incentivize the protection of this ledger/database, you’re exposing the ledger to unwanted harm from bad actors and hackers.
And if you don’t want to put this database in the public domain then please don’t use blockchain technology as existing databases such as MySQL, PostgreSQL etc. are far superior in terms of speed of transaction and scaling and it’s better to use them. I’m sure you’re already using these databases in the private domain.
A few examples below will help you understand how Blockchain and cryptocurrency cannot be separated:
- Internet is useless without websites
- An economy is useless without money
- Samosa is incomplete without aaloo
An appeal to everyone, let’s learn from history. Here’s lesson number 1:
