Ask HN: Are cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology innovative? - Austin_Conlon
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spraveenitpro
1\. Money [finance] is a technology just like Communication and
transportation. 2\. Now, If you think about it, computers and computer
networks came around only recently whereas these 3 have been around for
thousands of years. 3\. Each of these domains will/are being re-imagined /
reconstructed as if they came after the dawn of computers. 4\. A car invented
after computers will be a computer itself on the network while processing with
a capablity to drive itself. 5\. Communicating with any human being on the
planet face to face will approach epic cheapness as these humans will have a
computer in their pocket with a camera while being on a network that allows
this. 6\. Now, Extend this to money/finance, The currency and the network
through which the currency flows have been separate entities for more than a
millennia, i.e. Banks and the Fiat currency or USD on a Master Card/Visa
network. 7\. Evolution of the above would be a network that moves money/value
while solving the double-spend problem and still not centralized i.e. Trust
shifting from institutions/Govt to the Decentralized network that allows for
this. 8\. Bitcoin is the protocol/Network/Currency that is the culmination of
this evolution of money.

If you want to dig more:
[https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/36448501](https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/36448501)

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mdorazio
This depends heavily on how you define "innovative". The vast majority of use
cases people claim to be building blockchain/crypto solutions for would be
better served by a basic database and some regulation changes to lower
financial transaction fees. However, I would say the underlying technologies
are innovative and can be impactful in the future if applied to right problems
by people who aren't just speculators wanting to get rich quick.

