Blockchain

Broadly speaking, blockchain is a type of public ledger that can make nearly tamper-proof digital records. Its is a form of calculating trust. A set of data of common interest, called blocks, is validated and updated in real time after the conclusion of multilateral agreements with different nodes that run the software in a decentralized (peer-to-peer) network. The most recurrent way to explain the technology invented by a mysterious entity called Satoshi Nakamoto is through applications for financial data.

To be rewarded, the value-maximizing actors of a cryptocurrency notary system need to 'mine' the digital coins through a protocol called 'proof of work', which is nothing more than an evidence that the miner spent a lot of computational effort to perform a task that, in this case, is to solve a complex mathematical puzzle. But there is a bit of a bummer. To that 'hashing function' link the blocks a lot of energy is demanded. A lot, really.

By analogy, mining is gambling, and to know how it works, consider the entire process as if it were a lottery, with each kilowatt-hour being a ticket. But rather than randomness, the rewards are the result of brute force. Solved puzzles, withdrawn prizes (read: bitcoins). Over time, puzzles become more complex, which requires more computational power and more energy consumption. Today it is estimated that the annual carbon footprint of cryptocurrencies financial system is equivalent to that of Argentina. This needs to be regulated. Or force mining farms to buy Blockchain-based Carbon Credits, binding the cost ceiling for electricity consumption.

Cryptoart

Unlike the fungible bitcoins, interchangeable by definition, a non-fungible token, or a NFT, is a thing —and for a thing, you can imagine anything, like Minecraft pickaxes, pop songs, smart contracts, art works— a unique and exclusive thing, not liable in principle to mechanical reproduction. The cool mania now is hunting pieces of cryptoart that, after obtaining metadata of creator, date, owner, and so on, are logged on the blockchain of a cryptocurrency called Ethereum (the second most popular, after Bitcoin).

Art and marketplace are more connected than ever —especially in times of globalization. The art crowd excitement over new technologies is more visible than ever, turning up dark facets, like the upsurge of price speculation. To test this hypothesis, look at the recent purchase of a Bansky —in itself, a name that exudes speculation— by a group of digital art enthusiasts, who after tokenizing it into NFT, ritualistically burned the work in order to pump up its value.

There is too much at stake. After decades fighting to assert itself as a major player in the art world, it seems that network-based art, an original form of distributed and fungible new media art, is walking towards its twilight. NFT art represents a returning back to the artwork as an object, an owned fetish. Instead of participatory creative power scattered across servers, simple single-file art solutions are now bestowed on us.

Blockchain Chicken Farm

China has notoriously bad food safety. Yet, blockchain food projects along with Rural Revitalization, an official strategy that promotes steady agricultural development, is helping to revert the situation and increase the level of societal trust. Typical upper-class urbanites are willing to pay a premium on food, as for example free-range chickens. Enter blockchain, the trendy technology known for its ability to address tracking and commodity provenance. Just like a chicken Fitbit, an ankle bracelet tracks the number of steps that the poultry has taken, ensuring it lives in the green mountains of Guizhou and hasn't left a certain area.

The raising of surveilled chickens is just one example of what can be done with blockchain technology. Since food-safety inspection records in China are subject to falsification, it makes sense to have a technical infrastructure that can mediate trust automagically on the margins of the government power. But at some point, you have to trust some real person, as those who write the code. Thus, the mantra of developers should be the strengthening of decentralization and the empowerment of citizens, in the way of a blockchain sharing economy.

What Lies Ahead

Homo economicus

The empowerment of the people does not mean the cancellation of the State and its attributions. The vision of change that blockchain technology is trying to convey has to do with cutting red tape, whether or not a shared responsibility is added along the way. Everybody is talking about DeFi ecosystems, an experimental form of finance inspired by blockchain. But what is really on the horizon is the digital fiat currency, like the central bank digital currency (CBDC), in which agents no longer rely on intermediaries such as clearing houses to carry out transactions. China, not surprisingly, has become the forerunner in developing a digital version of the yuan, what is not exactly a standard cryptocurrency. The difference is that this digital legal tender will be firmly controlled by China's government. But before criticizing authoritarianism, take into account that Bitcoin, being largely out of control, ends up aggravating problems of financial engineering, money-laundering and fraud.

Homo energeticus

In a distributed energy future people are not only energy consumers, they can also produce it, like the mixotrophs, plankton that yield and absorb their own energy. Consider a future where smart grids join together to home energy management (HEM) systems, merging an integrated autonomous energy grid where people are in charge of micro-generation dynamic pricing. A blockchain network and its applications can therefore manage corresponding transactions, as created and sold electricity, and purchased and consumed tokens. It is not up to the user to play the role of her utility provider as the State has the ultimate responsibility. What is expected is that a well adjusted blockchain network can offers agents lower-carbon ways of life.