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Blockchains: The dream seems to be dying
Proponents of the technology need to make a better case for why it is useful
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A blockchain is a digital ledger associated with an asset, recording the history of transactions in that asset.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Paul Krugman
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A year ago, Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies were selling at record prices, with a combined market value of around US$3 trillion (S$4 trillion); glossy ads featuring celebrities – most infamously Matt Damon’s Fortune Favours The Brave – filled the airwaves. Politicians raced to align themselves with what seemed to be the coming thing. Sceptics like yours truly were told that we just didn’t get it.
Since then, the prices of crypto assets have plunged, while a growing number of crypto institutions have collapsed amid allegations of scandal. The implosion of FTX, which appears to have used depositors’ money in an attempt to prop up a related trading firm, has made the most headlines, but it’s only one entry on a growing list.
