Fabian Friedrich is a series founder and visionary. He is the CEO of BLOCKCHANCE, one of the largest blockchain conferences in Europe.
Blockchain was hailed as the key that opened the gateway into the digital age. The consensus algorithms powering the technology were seen as the “perfect” mechanisms for solving the issue of trust, or rather the lack thereof, which had been underpinning societal functions since time immemorial.
However, time has proven that the potential of blockchain in the democratic domain is questionable.
The principle of a blockchain network’s operation is based on creating blocks in a general registry that cannot be altered once hashed. No block can be hashed until the mathematical equation tethered to it is confirmed as true by the rest of the network participants, thus ensuring consensus.
But as the blockchain network is distributed, the question that arises relates to which of the computing nodes will be responsible for deciding which change is valid. The need for complete synchronization of all nodes and the issue of privileges for the verifiers arise. At the same time, the failure of the verifiers places the synchronization and operation of the entire network in jeopardy. This automatically negates all semblance of equal opportunities for all network participants. In this manner, any participant can check the integrity of the database regardless of their position.
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