• Advertise
  • Submit a Press Release
NewsBTC
Bitcoin & cryptocurrency news today, price & technical analysis
Price & Market
Cap Data from
Nomics Logo
  • News
    • Bitcoin
    • Ethereum
    • Ripple
    • Cardano
    • Tezos
    • EOS
    • Chainlink
    • Sponsored
    • Press Releases
  • Analysis
    • Bitcoin (BTC)
    • Ethereum (ETH)
    • Cardano (ADA)
    • Chainlink (LINK)
    • Litecoin (LTC)
    • Tezos (XTZ)
    • Zcash (ZEC)
    • EOS
    • YearnFinance (YFI)
  • Education
    • What is Bitcoin?
    • Accepting Bitcoin payments
    • Using Bitcoin
    • What is Bitcoin Mining
    • How to Trade Bitcoin
    • How to Buy Bitcoin
    • Digital Currency Exchange
    • Proof of Existence
    • Is Bitcoin legal?
    • Bitcoin Books
  • Trading Course
  • Directory
    • Crypto Businesses
    • Bitcoin Brokers
    • Casinos
    • Sportsbooks
  • TradeeToro
  • Gamble +Try
  • Play GamesTry
  • BUY BITCOINTry
No Result
View All Result
  • News
    • Bitcoin
    • Ethereum
    • Ripple
    • Cardano
    • Tezos
    • EOS
    • Chainlink
    • Sponsored
    • Press Releases
  • Analysis
    • Bitcoin (BTC)
    • Ethereum (ETH)
    • Cardano (ADA)
    • Chainlink (LINK)
    • Litecoin (LTC)
    • Tezos (XTZ)
    • Zcash (ZEC)
    • EOS
    • YearnFinance (YFI)
  • Education
    • What is Bitcoin?
    • Accepting Bitcoin payments
    • Using Bitcoin
    • What is Bitcoin Mining
    • How to Trade Bitcoin
    • How to Buy Bitcoin
    • Digital Currency Exchange
    • Proof of Existence
    • Is Bitcoin legal?
    • Bitcoin Books
  • Trading Course
  • Directory
    • Crypto Businesses
    • Bitcoin Brokers
    • Casinos
    • Sportsbooks
  • TradeeToro
  • Gamble +Try
  • Play GamesTry
  • BUY BITCOINTry
No Result
View All Result
NewsBTC
No Result
View All Result
Price & Market
Cap Data from
Nomics Logo
Home Cryptocurrency news Blockchain

Professor and Author Argues That Blockchain Represents a New Kind of Trust

Rick Delafont by Rick Delafont
2 years ago
in Blockchain, Cryptocurrency news
Reading Time: 3min read
Professor and Author Argues That Blockchain Represents a New Kind of Trust
Advertisement
Nexo Logo
Listen to Article

In a presentation given at Princeton University earlier today, University of Pennsylvania professor and blockchain author Kevin Werbach has claimed that distributed ledger technology offers humanity an entirely new kind of trust.

Rather than being a “trustless” technology as many crypto proponents argue, Werbach instead posits that blockchain both expands trust, whilst simultaneously reducing the level of trust required for a system to serve all parties fairly.

Blockchain Tech: An Entirely New Concept of Trust?

Professor and author of, The Blockchain and the New Architecture of Trust, Kevin Werbach, has given a presentation for students, faculty, and invited members of the public on blockchain technology and its relationship with the notion of trust. The lecturer on Legal Studies and Business Ethics at the University of Pennsylvania has argued that, contrary to popular believe, the technology backing various crypto assets not only relies on trust but provides humans with an entirely new form of it to boot.

5 BTC + 300 Free Spins for new players & 15 BTC + 35.000 Free Spins every month, only at mBitcasino. Play Now!

To support his thesis, Werbach drew on the recent example of the QuadrigaCX exchange and the millions of dollars supposedly lost following the death of the exchange’s CEO, Gerard Cotten, earlier this year. The professor stated that the example highlighted the fact that distributed ledger technology did indeed rely on numerous different kinds of trust.

Users storing funds on QuadrigaCX prior to Cotten’s death certainly trusted the exchange with their funds.

Despite how unfamiliar Werbach’s name might be to those interested in either crypto or blockchain technology, the UPenn professor does have the credentials to make his views worthy of consideration. Werbach is described as a “world-renowned expert on emerging technology” in a report by the publication of Princeton’s Center for Information Technology Policy, Freedom to Tinker. The blockchain author reportedly focuses on business and public policy relating to various technologies, such as the internet, big data, and blockchain.

Werbach also provided services to the Obama Administration’s Transition Team, as well as insight for President Clinton back when the internet was considered an emerging technology.

In today’s presentation, Werbach went on to outline some of the different kinds of trust that exist in society today. He spoke about peer-to-peer trust, based on the relationships between individuals; about Leviathan trust (first detailed by British philosopher John Hobbes) being a social contract between the individual and the state, giving the latter the power to enforce agreements made in private; and intermediary trust, or trust that relies on a central entity to manage various transactions.

Werbach argues that blockchain adds to these an entirely new form of trust. Rather than trust in any single actor to validate updates to a ledger recording anything (Bitcoin ownership, for example), instead users of blockchains can trust in the design of the system, which makes censorship of data all but impossible.

Blockchain technology interacts with the concept of trust in two ways for Werbach. Firstly, it minimises the requirement of trust through the removal of a single point of failure, reduction of the likelihood of monopolies forming, and making intermediation processes much more efficient.

However, blockchain also works to expand trust. The tech achieves this by minimising reconciliation, carrying out automated execution of transactions, and making records publicly auditable.

Werbach went on to state that there is a clear conflict of interest between blockchain technology and regulation. This is because blockchains are entirely agnostic towards transactions. Does the Bitcoin blockchain treat coins used to finance the murder of someone any differently than it does those units of BTC that are being transacted for the first time after they were mined? Of course not. Therefore, despite the greater auditability of public blockchains, blockchain-based currencies are prized by criminals for the permissionless nature upon which Werbach elaborates.

In concluding today’s presentation, the author stated that there were three main trade-offs all blockchain system designers needed to balance: trust, freedom of action, and convenience. By optimising for one of these qualities – for example, convenience – developers must sacrifice some of one or both of the others. Bitcoin, for example, suffers in terms of convenience thanks to its robust trust model. Conversely, more centralised crypto assets might optimise for convenience (fast transaction times, instant settlement, etc.), at the expense of either trust, freedom of action, or both.

 

Related Reading: Bitcoin Blockchain Costs Approx. $7 million a Day to Stay Secure

Featured Image from Shutterstock.
Tags: blockchaincrypto
TweetShare36
BitStarz Player Lands $2,459,124 Record Win! Could you be next big winner? Win up to $1,000,000 in One Spin at CryptoSlots
Rick Delafont

Rick Delafont

Based in Europe, Rick has written about the cryptocurrency industry since 2016. He was first drawn to Bitcoin as a means of payment but quickly became fascinated by its wider potential implications. His interests lie in the political, economic, and social impact of the unfolding digital asset revolution.

Related Posts

bitcoin dark web monero

Why The Dark Net’s Most Active Market Ditched Bitcoin For Monero

16 hours ago
Bitcoin, cryptocurrency, BTCUSD, BTCUSDT

Bitcoin Reclaims $40,000 as Powell Rubbishes Taper Tantrum Woes

21 hours ago
Bitcoin, cryptocurrency, BTCUSD, BTCUSDT

Bitcoin Logs Revenge Recovery as Lagarde Calls for Global Regulation

2 days ago
Bitcoin, cryptocurrency, BTCUSD, BTCUSDT

Bitcoin Flickers Near $35,000 as Bond Yields Drop; A Detailed Outlook

2 days ago
bitcoin bar new york

Landmark Real Estate Listing Offers Two New York Bars For 25 Bitcoin

3 days ago
huobi, ruble

Huobi Now Supports RUB Deposits and Withdrawals, Announces Crypto Purchase Campaign

3 days ago

Premium Partners

Top Brokers

eToro

eToro

Review · Visit
Changelly

Changelly

Review · Visit
Evolve Markets

Evolve Markets

Review · Visit
ArbiSmart

ArbiSmart

Review · Visit
PrimeXBT

PrimeXBT

Review · Visit
Moneta Markets

Moneta Markets

Review · Visit

Top Casinos

BitStarz

BitStarz

Review · Visit
CryptoSlots

CryptoSlots

Review · Visit
mBit

mBit

Review · Visit
CryptoGames

CryptoGames

Review · Visit
Bonusfinder DE

Bonusfinder DE

Review · Visit
Bspin

Bspin

Review · Visit
Wolf Bet

Wolf Bet

Review · Visit

Top Sportsbooks

1xBit

1xBit

Review · Visit

Press Releases

SV-based Taraxa Revolutionizes Legacy Data Auditing With Mathematically Provable Audit Trails

January 15, 2021

Kickoff Your DeFi Journey With YOYO FINANCE – Their Token Sale Is Live

January 14, 2021

RAI Finance Pre-sale Finishes in 1 Minute

January 13, 2021

Newsletter Signup


ABOUT US

NewsBTC is a cryptocurrency news service that covers bitcoin news today, technical analysis & forecasts for bitcoin price and other altcoins. Here at NewsBTC, we are dedicated to enlightening everyone about bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.

We cover BTC news related to bitcoin exchanges, bitcoin mining and price forecasts for various cryptocurrencies.

COMPANY

  • Advertising
  • Comments Policy
  • Privacy Center
  • Sitemap
  • About Us
  • Contact

Technical Analysis

  • Bitcoin (BTC)
  • Ethereum (ETH)
  • Ripple (XRP)
  • Chainlink (LINK)
  • Cardano (ADA)
  • Tezos (XTZ)

LINKS

Auto Trading Software ▸

Cryptocurrency news

  • Bitcoin
  • Ethereum
  • Ripple
  • Chainlink
  • Cardano
  • EOS
  • Tezos

© 2020 NewsBTC. All Rights Reserved.

  • News
    • Bitcoin
    • Ethereum
    • Ripple
    • Cardano
    • Tezos
    • EOS
    • Chainlink
    • Sponsored
    • Press Releases
  • Analysis
    • Bitcoin (BTC)
    • Ethereum (ETH)
    • Cardano (ADA)
    • Chainlink (LINK)
    • Litecoin (LTC)
    • Tezos (XTZ)
    • Zcash (ZEC)
    • EOS
    • YearnFinance (YFI)
  • Education
    • What is Bitcoin?
    • Accepting Bitcoin payments
    • Using Bitcoin
    • What is Bitcoin Mining
    • How to Trade Bitcoin
    • How to Buy Bitcoin
    • Digital Currency Exchange
    • Proof of Existence
    • Is Bitcoin legal?
    • Bitcoin Books
  • Trading Course
  • Directory
    • Crypto Businesses
    • Bitcoin Brokers
    • Casinos
    • Sportsbooks
  • Trade
  • Gamble +
  • Play Games
  • BUY BITCOIN

© 2020 NewsBTC. All Rights Reserved.

This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy Center or Cookie Policy.