
Blockchains are a new type of database - mutablematter
https://medium.com/mutable-matter/databased-47fc1eb0763
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gregjor
Not really. We're all used to money we don't hold physically, money that only
exists as data. We call it a bank account. We can manipulate that money -- use
it to buy something, transfer it, invest it -- without ever physically
handling it. The system has some friction and costs, but so does Bitcoin.

I can't remember the last time I physically converted a paycheck to cash.
Instead I get a direct deposit and never see the cash unless I use an ATM. I
also can't remember the last time I waited "three days" for a check to settle.
I can deposit a paper check with my phone and the funds get credited to my
account immediately.

While Bitcoin does represent a way to exchange funds that didn't exist in
exactly that form before, it's hardly a novel idea. And blockchain is not a
database, it's a ledger. Not the same thing.

