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Earlier this month, Edward Snowden, the notorious whistle blower who once worked for the National Security Agency (NSA) said scalability may not necessarily be the biggest challenge facing the cryptocurrency but rather the open ledger system which it is re known for.
He said this through Webcam while answering questions at a blockchain event in Berlin, Germany. He therefore said that in his own opinion, bitcoin may only last for awhile and not forever. He later gave credence to Zcash which he described as more interesting because of its privacy properties.
Snowden's argument rests on the fact that having a public ledger system simply opens up an avenue for government meddling in the technology and which he said may want to outlaw it.
It is also interesting to know that just recently, a report came out about the NSA's surveillance activities not only on the blockchain technology but even on individuals bitcoin transactions in recent time.
Keycom Analysis- How true is Snowden's statement?
The open ledger system is the biggest advantage that cryptocurrencies pride over any other currencies created in modern time. An open public ledger system is therefore not a flaw but rather the greatest edge bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies have over other currencies for the following reasons listed below
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1. Transparency! Transparency!! Transparency!!!
The openness of the public ledger means that transactions are available to everyone and this brings about trust in the system. This is the bane of other currencies like the fiat that is being used to fund wars, drug peddling and other nefarious acts that are not made known to the public. The open ledger system has simply put paid to that in the sense that all activities are made known to the public
2. Public address and not private address is shown thereby ensuring privacy.
Critics of the public ledger system have always based their arguments on privacy concerns but it should be of interest that the public address is what is displayed on the ledger and not the individuals private address
3. Verification can be done by anyone.
Since the transactions are all made public, it enables verification on the network to be done by every Dick and Harry and at any point in time. This is in contrast to what happens in centralized system like the banks where you have to wait before such verification are made leading to delays upon delays
4. Last but not the least is the fact that the protocol of bitcoin cannot be manipulated by anyone, not even the government.
The fact that it is accessible for verification by anyone does not mean that it can be tampered with. This is because it is cryptographically secure therefore a public open ledger system makes all these possible.
It is therefore logical to conclude that the advantages of the cryptos hinge mainly on the fact that they are decentralized and the protocols are open to the public thereby flawing Snowden's statement.
What are your thoughts on this? Do you think the open Ledger system is rather a disadvantage rather than an advantage for Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies as stated by Edward Snowden? Let me know in the comment section. Cheers!