Tyler Cowen, Columnist

Don't Let Doubts About Blockchains Close Your Mind

Prepare yourself for the new intellectual battlefield.

There’s a small chance it could be real. Photographer: Lars Hagberg/AFP/Getty Images

Lock
This article is for subscribers only.

Many people, when they hear the word “blockchain,” think of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. Yet there is another feature of the blockchain afoot, one which promises to bring a new and radical decentralization to technology, including social media. Or as it was reported on Twitter: “Silicon Valley used to be a counterculture. It’s not anymore. It is the establishment. The crypto community is the new counterculture.”

Let’s work through one scenario to see what might be at stake.