What is a blockchain?
At its core, it is a database. This allows for information to be written to and extracted from the chain. It is a process that is done using a key system which is tied to wallet addresses.
Here is a process that is going to fundamentally alter how people interact with digital information. We are embarking upon a time where development is proceeding to the point where we are looking at real life merging with this technology.
No longer is it solely about recording cryptocurrency financial transactions.
We recently discussed how blockchain is starting to penetrate Wall Street and Washington. This showed how the immutability and transparency of these networks is appealing to those entities where distrust is arising.
In this article we will dig into another application that is rolling out which will link blockchain to any asset.
Coldlink is the latest project to roll out of DFZ Labs, the creator of Deadfellaz. It will allow for the connecting of online and offline items without signing transactions. There is also no need to access a website.
“To ‘Coldlink’ something is to connect any digital asset safely to anything else without granting permissions to the wallet holding the asset,” DFZ Labs pseudonymous CEO Betty told Decrypt.
This is a major step considering that blockchain wallets tend to have pseudo-anonymity. Of course, at this point, many have tracking to their real identities through the use of centralized exchanges. However, going forward, someone can set up a wallet specifically for this purpose.
It is also something that can bring up a host of opportunities especially as it pertains to digital assets.
For example, they could connect a blockchain address to a PO box in order to receive a physical item without revealing their identity or connect a digital music collectible to a physical concert ticket number in order to gain rewards from an event organizer.
The first example is going to send people like Elizabeth Warren off the deep end. However, development should not be focus upon the reaction of people like her. There are, naturally, legitimate reasons why a product might be ordered without the desire of identity being known. (Those blue pills are for a vascular issue in my arm, I swear.)
One of the keys is the range of environments this can operate within.
“There is no smart contract interaction, no blind signing—creating a safer, quicker, cheaper, and more interoperable solution that can be plugged into existing infrastructure to solve many problems,” she said.
Instead, Coldlink uses unique transaction markers paired with database entries to link the assets.
“Coldlink verification essentially works by pairing a serialized unique tracer transaction with a serialized unique database entry for each Coldlink submission,” she continued, adding that the technology has been feasible for a long time–but DFZ labs is the first to handle it in this particular way.
There we have that word again: database.
This is a system that using a serialized unique tracer that is attached to an item which tracks the movement through the system. It is no different then what supply chains do with RFID tags correlating to specific products.
Blockchain is a fit since blocks are created in a serialized fashion. We see this with the creation of cryptographic assets and their movement. This idea moves it one step further, taking something that is off-chain and providing a unique identifier to it.
The point in all this is that blockchain is much more than cryptocurrency. For years I have stated that thinking about blockchain as only crypto is akin to equating the Internet with email. This is only one application, something evident as the Internet is much bigger than email.
By the same notion, blockchain is much bigger than cryptocurrency. In fact, it is likely that, over time, other application (or use cases) surpass in utility.
Again, relating it to the Internet, it is safe to say that social media is larger today than email. We might also be able to claim that streaming also commands a greater share of the utility.
Here we are looking at integration that is focused upon, in part, to privacy. This is a topic that is often discussed, especially in the era of surveillance capitalism. With Web 2.0, we know there is no little privacy as corporations are apt to get hacked.
Over the next few years, the development around blockchain databases is only going to grow. Entities are figuring out there is real value to placing data on-chain and then having it extracted by a multitude of applications. When it comes to permission, offering that control to key holders is going to be essential.
It is at this point that innovation takes place. We still see a lot of noise surrounding the industry. The green candle people are loud and the media focus is on price. However, think back to the Internet. What is the world spent its time promoting email, overlooking the potential of social media or streaming?
Obviously, in hindsight, we would say this is obtuse. That said, are we potentially making the same mistake with blockchain and the view that it is cryptocurrency. When it comes to databases, financial transactions make up only a fraction of the total.
Things would accelerate on this end if a large portion of the crypto community thought along these lines.
