An American cryptographer is doubling down on his criticism of blockchain. Start-ups banking on the technology will end up dropping it, says Bruce Schneier, a cryptography and security specialist.
Bruce Schneier isn't one to mince words: the American cryptographer and former top IBM executive is currently touting «Click Here to Kill Everybody», a book which warns of the risks and security consequences from automation becoming more widespread.
He is just as succinct on blockchain technology: «I haven't seen until now a use case for blockchain», Schneier told Swiss specialty outlet «Netzwoche» (in German). And, «no one has ever had a problem that blockchain is the solution for. Instead, people are taking technology and going looking for problems to solve», he said.
«Nothing New, Valuable»
Schneier, a 56-year-old fellow at Harvard Law School, is ruthless in his indictment of the growing community of blockchain start-ups, many of which have made their home in Switzerland's crypto valley. «For them, the technology is mainly an instrument for PR. They will drop blockchain again when it becomes clear that it doesn't add any value.»
He is equally withering of the now-famous bitcoin white paper written by the still-unidentified Satoshi Nakamoto in 2008: the paper revealed nothing of meaning that wasn't already known, Schneier said. «The technology didn't unleash a furore in the cryptography community.»
Problems vs Usefulness
Schneier's comments to the Swiss publication follow an opinion piece in «» last month arguing that public blockchains neither add value nor solve security problems, and that cryptocurrencies are broadly useless. Predictably, the piece was widely panned in the crypto and blockchain community.
The surge of bitcoin is rooted in the financial crisis of 2008-09, and not in the need for blockchain, Schneier said. Bitcoin is somewhat unique because it reflects a value of the digital world. «But bitcoin's problems are far larger than their usefulness», Schneier concludes.
