There are downsides to blockchain technologies and processes (blockchain algorithms power Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies):
Each purported use case — from payments to legal documents, from escrow to voting systems — amounts to a set of contortions to add a distributed, encrypted, anonymous ledger where none was needed. What if there isn’t actually any use for a distributed ledger at all? What if, 10 years after it was invented, the reason nobody has adopted a distributed ledger at scale is because nobody wants it?
Source: Ten years in, nobody has come up with a use for blockchain
I suspect there are good uses for blockchain, however, the point is well taken. In the 1980s, I worked at a company that built a spreadsheet product that was so simplified that people who did not know algebra could use it. This seemed like a great break through. What was the problem? People who did not know basic algebra concepts did not have problems in life requiring a spreadsheet!
In other words, the technology was great but completely missed the target audience.
The linked article identifies many disconnects between proposed blockchain use cases – and the real world. A very interesting read.
