{"id":4040,"date":"2018-10-23T10:07:10","date_gmt":"2018-10-23T09:07:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newmoneyreview.com\/?p=4040"},"modified":"2019-02-19T11:07:57","modified_gmt":"2019-02-19T10:07:57","slug":"cutting-through-the-blockchain-hype","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newmoneyreview.com\/index.php\/2018\/10\/23\/cutting-through-the-blockchain-hype\/","title":{"rendered":"Cutting through the blockchain hype"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201c\u2018Blockchain\u2019 and \u2018distributed ledger technology\u2019 (DLT) have become almost meaningless buzzwords that are mainly used for marketing and PR purposes,\u201d say the authors of a new Cambridge University study<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Given the hype, arriving at a conceptual framework for this emerging technology seems like a thankless task.<\/p>\n

What is there in common between an open-source, open-access network like bitcoin, which operates largely outside the control of the traditional financial system, and a proprietary, invitation-only database set up by banks to share transaction details? Yet, by convention, we label both these systems as blockchains.<\/p>\n

And what about cryptocurrencies that claim to offer a radical improvement on bitcoin\u2019s processing capacity, which is limited to seven transactions per second<\/a>?<\/p>\n

Faster systems may be more centralised and have limited resistance to external censorship. How can we measure the trade-offs involved?<\/p>\n

Confusion over the meaning of the terms \u2018blockchain\u2019 and \u2018distributed ledger technology\u2019 is worsening<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

These are some of the questions addressed in an exclusive interview with New Money Review<\/em> by Michel Rauchs, lead cryptocurrency and blockchain researcher at the Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance (CCAF), part of Cambridge University.<\/p>\n

In our latest podcast<\/a>, Rauchs talks about the challenges involved in cutting through the blockchain hype.<\/p>\n

Some highlights of the interview:<\/p>\n