The problem with blockchain is that everything you can do with it can also be done with a good database. In the case of crypto, it also means that you have to download THE ENTIRE THING SINCE IT STARTED if you want to run a full node capable of validating transactions. The Bitcoin Blockchain was - as of September 2025 - 674GB in size, adding a gigabyte every few days, meaning it is probably around 750GB today, stored on every single full node - what a waste of space. Databases are a lot more flexible in that regard.
And a centralized database can be modified at will by whoever controls it. Just because you place no value on a distributed ledger that is censorship and fraud resistant doesn’t mean that configuration has no value. Centralized currencies are secured with violence. Blockchains are secured with math.
You can also apply cryptographic functions to make sure database entries are not modified - this is then an issue of transparency and not centralization.
The problem with blockchain is that everything you can do with it can also be done with a good database. In the case of crypto, it also means that you have to download THE ENTIRE THING SINCE IT STARTED if you want to run a full node capable of validating transactions. The Bitcoin Blockchain was - as of September 2025 - 674GB in size, adding a gigabyte every few days, meaning it is probably around 750GB today, stored on every single full node - what a waste of space. Databases are a lot more flexible in that regard.
And a centralized database can be modified at will by whoever controls it. Just because you place no value on a distributed ledger that is censorship and fraud resistant doesn’t mean that configuration has no value. Centralized currencies are secured with violence. Blockchains are secured with math.
You can also apply cryptographic functions to make sure database entries are not modified - this is then an issue of transparency and not centralization.
Centralized powers can do whatever they want with the database. You are welcome to transparently watch them do whatever they want without recourse.