I heard a reporter discussing this venture on Bloomberg Radio this morning and couldn’t resist the temptation to have a mini-rant. The reporter was explaining why they’re not using blockchain, citing two main reasons. First, while an immutable record of livestock would be useful, there’s already a reliable source of truth in government-managed livestock records. Second, blockchain is considered “too difficult for farmers to understand.”
These arguments are reasonable but also reveal a common misunderstanding about the blockchain value proposition. Yes, blockchain offers a tamper-proof and tamper-evident way to store data and can eliminate inefficiencies through smart contracts. However, these benefits are not exclusive to blockchain. Similar outcomes can be achieved with centralized or more traditional technologies. For instance, WORM drives (for those old enough to remember) have provided data immutability for decades, and modern solutions like AWS QLDB offer the same feature. For automation, we’ve had “software” since at least 1945 (ENIAC) to handle process optimization. Who knew!?
Immutability and automation, while important, are not sufficient reasons to choose blockchain—at least not on their own. Blockchain emerged from a libertarian dream, a compelling vision that eventually gave rise to Bitcoin. At its core, blockchain is about decentralization, or if you prefer, disintermediation. This should be obvious, as these concepts are central to blockchain’s identity and frequently emphasized by its practitioners and ventures. Yet, upon closer inspection, genuinely decentralized projects and implementations are rare. Instead, blockchain is often shoehorned into centralized business models, which contradicts its foundational principles.
I suspect Murray Roos is pursuing a centralized business model for his venture—and why shouldn’t he? This, in fact, is the real reason blockchain isn’t being used in this case.
To be clear, I’m not arguing against blockchain itself. Rather, I’m highlighting how its application has been bent and twisted far from its original principles—and not in a good way. I’m also realistic enough to recognize that even in a blockchain-native world, centralized services would still play a vital role. But let’s stop forcing blockchain into centralized business models where it doesn’t belong.
I still believe, but keeping the faith isn’t always easy …
#blockchain
Mphil AgEcons
2moWaaaw. Deforestation-free properties in to a block chain System. I wish it could be replicated in Ghana too.