Author: tylerkaczynski

Here at Boston University there are a lot of smart, tech-savvy, well off        people. College isn’t cheap, so it’s essentially a filter that selects for those people whose parents are able to afford the tuition. Many people associate Boston University with tech (and other disciplines). So, wouldn’t all these aspects and contributing factors point towards Boston University (and surrounding neighborhoods, businesses and shops) being the perfect breeding ground for the adoption of blockchain technology, such as Bitcoin? Let’s explore the nuances of all the motivating factors, and why, unfortunately, this isn’t necessarily the case.

Trust on campus

In a small and close-knit community, where everyone has the stated goal (at least implicitly stated) of learning full time, it’s easy to imagine how there would be little distrust and even less suspicion. Meaning, if you’re about to visit a nearby dorm to buy some second hand furniture, you’re probably just going to walk on over to take a look, with some cash in your pocket. You’re not going to do in depth research on the student’s buying and selling history in some kind of centralized review system (as the one that arose as part of eBay and other online marketplaces). There’s no need! You implicitly trust them enough to appear at their dorm and not be robbed. Cash will do, in this case. So in fact, a small, close-knit and trusting community is (on reflection), not the ideal incubator for the adoption of Bitcoin, that we thought it to be.

Venturing out

Let’s say that we take some portion of (our parents) hard-earned money out for a spin, to the nearby town for some shopping. When visiting local stores, venues, bars and other favorites of the undergraduate demographic, let’s consider the user experience of fiat currency, compared to the new and promising blockchain solution: Bitcoin. The first hypothetical bar we venture into proudly states “cash only”. An instantaneous and fatal defeat for blockchain’s strongest challenger. The network-effect of cash is simply too strong; business venues such as bars are already running on razor-thin margins, fighting to maintain profitability by decreasing their prices as far as they can, and even cutting out card payment facilities, to save money on the cost of card payment fees, and recurring terminal rental fees. Is this good for the customer? No, not at all, it’s incredibly inconvenient. And the business is knowingly inflicting this upon their customers, they don’t mind, because people will go to the effort of walking to an ATM, and go to the cost of paying the ATM fee. This does not bode well for our blockchain challenger: Using Bitcoin in person (so far) is even more inconvenient than going to an ATM. There’s difficulty in specifying the exact amount to be paid, and even more difficulty when waiting for confirmation that the block has cleared (often, taking 10 minutes). You can walk in, drink a beer, and leave, all before 10 minutes is up.

Business uses

The reader may cry foul, that we’ve selected only one, extremely difficult use case for our considerations. In fairness, let’s turn our focus to business transactions that a Boston student may wish to make with bitcoin. Suppose they’ve started an entrepreneurial venture (not uncommon, during college years). If the service takes some time (from one day to several weeks) to deliver, depending on the complexity of the requirements, then the price of bitcoin will have fluctuated wildly in between, potentially rendering the student surprisingly well off or surprisingly unable to pay the bill. Even if you stay on top of the latest cryptocurrency news, it’s very difficult to predict where the price will move next. Our example business would sensibly accept fiat currency, while our hypothetical student would sensibly not leave his funds at the mercy of the volatility of the market.

The future

So far, the scales of convenience, added safety, and stability seem to be stacked against poor Bitcoin. It certainly doesn’t seem to be able to compete with the legal tender of the country. However, this is not to say that just because Bitcoin is not up to the job, that all blockchain based solutions will fail. It’s rare to find this long term view, because bitcoin is almost synonymous with blockchain to almost all laypeople, as well as investors, speculators, hodlers and others. Will a new blockchain solution come along that solves the problem of speed, convenience, and ubiquity? It’s impossible to say. But without naming and visualising the mountain that is ahead of us, we certainly won’t climb higher. We’ve reached a peak with bitcoin, but can confidently assert that it is one small hill among a fast field of mountains. It’s time for us to lace up our boots and climb downwards (as painful as it seems), in order to climb up again, and seek out the next best blockchain solution for the world.

Glasses! These small, wearable pairs of lenses are becoming more and more common by the day. Boys or girls, young or old, it doesn't matter. While another article would point to all the medical and scientific reasons as to why this is the case, I'm not going to be focusing on all that.

Instead, I'm going to be focusing on the glasses themselves. First created as reading aids for monks during the Renaissance, they eventually morphed into a stylish fashion accessory all on it's own. In fact, the wearing of eyeglasses is now considered so chic that many people with 20/20 vision have taken to wearing fake glasses just to make a fashion statement.

But how did this happen?

For the vast majority of its existence, the humble pair of glasses and their wearers had largely been associated with weakness, passivity, and uptightness. This was mainly due to their association with scholars and clergymen, who often spent long hours reading books and scrolls and did not go outside or engage in physical activity very often.

This stigma against glasses began to fall away in 1910, when President Theodore Roosevelt (who was also well-known as a hunter and a sportsman) was photographed wearing a pair of them. Harold Lloyd, a popular comedic actor at the time, also began wearing glasses onscreen in the 1900s.

At about the same time, in the United Kingdom, the cricket player Ernest "Tim" Killick became one of the first professional cricket players to regularly wear glasses on the field, giving it a new veneer of respectability in "a time when Victorian England regarded spectacles as a sure sign of the weakling and the mollycoddle" (as written by Neville Cardus).

As the 20th century went on, a trend started developing of celebrities wearing glasses as a personal calling card, an iconic accessory just as recognisable to their fans as a name or a face. The musicians John Lennon and Buddy Holly became so strongly associated with the glasses they wore, that if you wore a pair of perfectly circular glasses in public today, someone would almost certainly think you were trying to mimic the Beatles star. Some celebrities even continued to wear glasses even when there was no more need for it, simply due to their public image being so strongly linked to them. For example, even after undergoing laser-eye surgery, actor and comedian Drew Carrey continued to wear glasses (non-prescription this time).

The design and manufacturing of glasses have advanced far since their inception. If you were to buy glasses online today, you'd be faced with more options for how you wanted them to look than at any point in 1910. Full-rimmed, rimless, browline, wireframe. With frames made of wood, plastic, acetate, or titanium. Dyed every color of the rainbow (or even frames with no color at all). Yes, modern manufacturing has advanced to the point where, if it can snugly hold a pair of lenses, you can probably buy it as a pair of eyeglasses.

Undoubtedly, this has helped make the pair of glasses more of a sleek accessory, and less of an ungainly corrective for a disability. However, as you could see from the examples above, the real driver of this change of perception from "glasses as a sign of weaknesses" to "glasses as a sign of style and coolness" was largely driven by sheer influence of celebrities and political figures.

Before, the only people where you would expect to wear a pair of glasses were people in heavily sedentary and intellectual professions. Scholars, writers, and members of the clergy. This was what led to glasses-wearing being considered such a pathetic trait. But when more and more types of people (e.g. actors, politicians, musicians) began wearing it in public, with many of them being famous individuals with a huge amount of cultural clout, the general public started seeing glasses as cool in itself, perhaps even sexy.

Thus, we go back to an age-old one adage: Beauty is always in the eye of the beholder. Even the most seemingly inelegant items could be considered fashionable by society, if enough people outgrew their preconceived notions and considered new ways of seeing things.

Who knows? Perhaps even in the future, items like braces, hearing aids, and even wheelchairs would also be considered attractive in their own way. Call me crass, but it's not really any less unlikely than a pair of eyesight-correction devices being a signifier of cool. If anything, being considered stylish would help the people who need to use these items feel better about themselves, and to feel more accepted in mainstream society. Far too often, people with disabilities are patronized, and made to feel inferior to non-disabled people. Having their disability aids be considered "cool" or "fashionable" would help feel like they had some small measure of worth because of their special needs, rather than something that puts them in a lesser position from everyone else.

All people deserve to feel good about themselves and their bodies!

On this blog, we often talk about the merits of cryptocurrency - but today I want to dive deeper into another topic: what happens to your crypto assets if you die, and how can you protect your inheritance?

It is wise to ensure these precious cryptocurrency assets are properly accounted for and protected. As such, it is important to have an estate plan in place. This not only entails having language in every will and trust to ensure proper administration of cryptocurrency in the estate. It also entails attention to the picking of fiduciaries to handle these assets.

Here are two simple steps to safeguard your assets for the next generation.

Step 1: Identify Assets and Create an Inventory

What most people underestimate is the large information gap between you and your next generation. Due to the nature of most cryptocurrencies which rely on blockchain technology, various types of cryptocurrency have so far been treated as property. This is dependent on the various laws in different states and/or countries.

As such, you need to be aware that the transference of such property might incur costs or bring in profits. Further, it may be difficult to locate these assets if your loved ones are not aware of their existence in the first place. Another difficulty that may arise is the failure to disclose the private keys to your crypto wallet. All this misinformation will lead to confusion and possibly loss of your assets.

Luckily, all you require to sidestep this mess is to simply create an inventory for your next generation. This digital inventory should include details of your digital account, instructions to access your private keys, details of any custodian or crypto exchange or 3P provider. These details need to be updated regularly as well.

Needless to say, one must safeguard against the possibility that this inventory falls into the wrong hands. This can be done by storing this inventory in a safe place, with proper passwords.
A possible solution could be to entrust this inventory with your probate attorney. Also remember to have backups in secure places.

Step 2: Have a Carefully Drafted Will

Your Will will play a part to safeguard your future generation’s inheritance. It could contain instructions on how your digital estate should be administered, who should administer it, whether these accounts should be closed or transferred etc.

Essentially, you should develop a plan as to who you want inheriting what type of asset, and how you can make that happen. Given the different nature of each cryptocurrency and the wide variety of digital assets in the market now, you would also need to consider the national and/or state laws. You must ensure that your plan is also legally feasible.

Another interesting way to make your Will secure is to harness blockchain to create a distributed ledger of wills. This would ensure that your after-life decisions are reliably recorded and secured. Academics have touted the benefits of having a blockchain Will – it will serve the true purpose of will formalities to serve as a binding directive for the distribution of your property.

Start Making Plans Now

For investment savvy people, blockchain will become an essential part of your asset collection. While these two simple steps will not be sufficient to safeguard your inheritance completely, it outlines the process to doing so. The hardest part is always the effort in taking time to sit down, processing, and consolidating your assets. The easiest part is that you have the tools to get started right away. Just grab that pen and paper, start recording, store it in a secure place, and take heart that your children and loved ones have a roadmap to your treasures.

If you are keen to obtain more detailed advice on how to protect your assets for the next generation, you should find a probate attorney. I use a probate attorney near me that has walked me through the intricacies of planning my Will and provided an in-depth analysis of my estate - I would highly recommend you do the same.

A probate attorney will also be able to explain the laws governing your state and/or country, and help you develop a plan for this. This could include a testamentary trust to hold your assets and provide a roadmap for the distribution of your wealth, even if you are not using cryptocurrency.

It is never too early to plan. If you are young and passionate about crypto, then you should start your digital asset planning now. A good estate plan is not about keeping your assets in a vault for your descendants. It is about leaving them a legacy to work for and to pass down the family tree.

I hope that this piece gave you some food for thought on how you can protect your assets so that your children and loved ones will never have to go through the pain of losing their inheritance. You’ve worked hard, don’t let it go to waste!

Guest submission by Lynn R.

Do you know that feeling you get when you browse through your grandparent's house and stumble upon the numerous albums compiled of your parents as teenagers? After having a good laugh and poking fun at your mother's bizarre outfits and your father's ridiculous choice in hairstyle, do you ever stop to ask yourself why those photographs evoke such a warm and nostalgic feeling?

In this day and age, with approximately 5.27 billion people in possession of a mobile device, current photographs are taken through smartphones which are meant to serve as a more convenient and fast-paced medium for capturing photos. However, due to this more and more photos are starting to become less personal and sentimental. Continue reading to find out why.

Texture and Grittiness

Since the invention of the smartphone in 1992, people have been using a myriad of editing applications to alter and conceal blemishes in photos. Whether that be a skin-related blemish or a defect in the scenery of a photo that one simply wants to remove in order to achieve the “perfect look”, digital photos simply tend to look too clean and unrealistically flawless. Photographs taken on an analog camera undergo a process called photographic processing in order to be developed. This means that after the photograph is taken and is processed in the camera it is no longer able to be modified.

Due to the unalterable nature of these photos, they over time often accumulate texture and grit or stochastic resonance that you cannot obtain with digital photos. These components better explain why some actually prefer analog photography over digital, one theory professes that this is because we humans are naturally imperfect and we are habituated to flaws and blemishes. Thus, seeing these imperfections in photographs is very much relatable and attracts us to its naturalistic elements.

Color and Emotion

Color plays an imperative role in our psychology and emotions. Color psychology is a branch of study that strives to determine how certain colors e.g. red, orange, and yellow which are traditionally warmer colors tend to make us feel warm or aggressive or how other colors e.g. green and blue can make us feel calm or depressed. That being said, when we apply color to photos they drastically affect the emotions that come with it.

Unlike digital cameras which capture one of three primary colors, most analog cameras tend to have a natural hint of blue filter— some even have red or yellow filters. This helps explain why some associate photos captured with an analog camera with nostalgia, sadness, and calming sensations. Color influences emotion.

Nostalgia and Memory Associations

Taking it one step further from the idea that colors influence emotions, we can delve into the concept that emotions such as nostalgia, especially, are notorious when looking back on older photos as they are linked to memory associations.

This may seem like a given, but when humans feel an emotion that is associated with a memory, a part of their brain called the amygdala becomes activated. This aspect of color and emotion delineates how much of an impact analog photography can have on our brain physiology.

Lack of Editing and its Unalterable Nature

The era of technology has generated a highly editable world in which users are constantly altering and concealing things across multiple platforms. Blockchain, on the other hand, has made it virtually impossible to alter or hack the system which is why it is extremely valuable in distributing photos (or any information) across entire networks.

Similarly, analog photography works in this exact manner. As mentioned in the texture and grittiness section, after taking a photograph using an analog camera the photo is unable to be amended, and in other words, it solidifies the moment captured, along with its blemishes and flaws, and is impossible in altering or concealing it.

Despite the several advantages of analog photography, one factor that digital photographers seldom have to face is the fact that over the years many photographs tear, warp, and become damaged. Even though stochastic resonance may be a component as to why some enjoy analog photography, too much white noise (otherwise known as grain), could result in an unviewable image. That is why it is important to use the best photo restoration service, to ensure that your beautiful photographs can stay intact for years to come.

Digital and analog photography both have their own benefits, and digital photography is certainly at its peak usage today. But when deciding between the two, one shouldn’t completely eliminate analog photography, as it is evidently a highly suitable form of capturing astounding photos. So next time you visit your grandparent’s house and glance over the silly pictures of your parents, try to acknowledge the beauty in each photo and the incredible influence analog photography obtains.

Studying cryptography, computer science, and math are some of the most difficult things that you can put yourself through during college. This post today is about tackling the challenges and mental strains involved in studying such difficult and challenging topics.

If you're feeling anxious, depressed, or buried in existential dread, take it as a sign: your body is asking you to make a change. Especially as students who live in a perpetually changing social landscape, we can't always expect our old routines to suffice.

But where to begin? What changes can I make for my mental health?

There are ten thousand corny, droning self-help videos on YouTube (that might even be an understatement). Nothing that helps you take action.

Below are some areas of growth to focus on, as well as curated resources that help you jump straight in -- while staying relatable and approachable.

Challenge your self-limiting beliefs

When you believe you’ll fail, you stop trying. And then you never have a chance to prove yourself wrong! That’s how self-limiting beliefs creep into our brains and stay there. But they’re not stuck forever, and you’re not doomed to self-sabotage.

Shut down social anxiety with a mental checklist

Even if you don’t identify as having social anxiety, who hasn’t been in a social situation and wondered if they were doing ok? When we get stuck on thoughts about how others perceive us, we become less present in conversation, and turn our initial worry into a self-fulfilling prophecy.

So instead of worrying, just familiarize yourself with a couple of social skills checklists – no more unnecessary second-guessing in social situations.

Heal old wounds

Have you heard of the concept of your “inner child”? It’s the part of yourself you may not even be aware of, that absorbed all your childhood hurts and made assumptions out of them. Your inner child can dictate much more of your conscious reality than you realize, so tackle anxiety and depression by getting in touch with child-you. This can look like writing a letter to your inner child, starting therapy, or confiding in someone about childhood difficulties.

Sharpen your listening skills

The better a listener you are, the better you can connect with others. Strong social bonds are a major predictor of mental wellbeing, so the benefits of this small personal tweak will be felt directly and indirectly. Read up on easy ways to listen more effectively, and look for opportunities to practice listening more often.

Defend against the Sunday Scaries

Especially when you have the freedom to schedule your classes, the Sunday Scaries may show up all throughout the week. Performance anxiety and the pressure of your future career don’t help! But there are ways to reframe and strategically approach your workload, so that it doesn’t infringe on your relaxation time.

Students face all kinds of exhilarating and meaningful challenges within class; mental health challenges, on the other hand, drain your lifeforce and your ability to engage with positive opportunities outside of class. Luckily, some special attention to key pillars of emotional health can help students stay stable with minimal effort.

These days, there seems like there is nothing that is safe from being posted on an influencers’ Instagram account. From presidential campaigns to blockchain, every conceivable product, service, vacation spot, and vegan smoothie bar has probably ended up on some influencer’s Instagram page at some point. Have we reached the saturation point? 

An “influencer” is a discount version of a celebrity. They both fulfill the same function in marketing and ad campaigns — to convince the consumer to buy a product. Sponsored posts on influencers’ Instagram pages have replaced glossy ad campaigns featuring the celebrity of the month as the key strategy companies use to get their products to the masses. 

When social media was new and influencers were few and far between, this strategy was more effective. In the late 2000s to early 2010s, the novelty of influencers was that they were regular people just like us. We no longer had to rely on paparazzi shots of celebrities in sweatpants getting coffee to have something to relate to. Influencers were more like our friends. They posted photos of themselves doing #relatable things like walking their dogs and cleaning their houses. They were pretty and popular without being out of reach. Once this dynamic had been firmly established, it was easier for them to convince you to buy a detoxing tea or hair loss shampoo. It was just like listening to your friends, after all. Don’t we usually trust our friends to recommend new things to us? However, the relationship between influencer and follower that made them such good spokesmodels for products doesn’t seem to have transferred to the current generation of youths. It seems that kids these days aren’t really influenced anymore.

According to a report by Ofcom, the UK government’s regulatory authority for communications, 18-24 year-olds spent 10 and a half minutes looking at Instagram each day last September, down from more than 15 minutes the previous year. These young adults spent significantly more time on TikTok and Youtube, with usage of the two apps clocking in at over 30 minutes and one hour respectively. While it’s not clear that this is because of the unfettered reign of influencers over Instagram, it’s certainly no coincidence that the app has been declining in popularity with young adults since it shifted from a more personal app to a more commercialized one, especially since it was bought by Facebook. Whatever Instagram is selling, literally and figuratively, people just aren’t buying any more.

There are several reasons this could be the case. Influencers were easier to take when Instagram was new because they weren’t the only people on the app. It’s easy to forget now that Instagram started out as a place where you could share photos of your family and friends with your family and friends. Sure, sometimes it was nice to widen your circle outside people you knew in real life, and that’s where influencers came in. But over time, the friends and family faded away and the influencers took hold. If you have an Instagram account, scroll through your feed. How much of it is content from the people you know and love? And how much of it is influencers, celebrities, ads, and suggested posts?

The old adage “less is more” also holds true when it comes to the sheer volume of influencers. Companies now contract several influencers to promote their products. When you see the same weight loss pill on multiple peoples’ Instagram feeds, the illusion that your favorite influencer is your friend is broken. The implicit trust that the follower has in the influencer is the core of an influencer’s power. Once that is gone, it can be hard to get back. And once you start scrolling past an influencer’s post instead of hitting “like”, it means that you have now become immune to influencers. 

What actually makes an influencer? The traditional answer is that it depends on the number of followers they have. The more followers they have, the more they can charge for sponsored posts. Kim Kardashian, the original influencer, has more than 230 million followers and reportedly charges upwards of US$800,000 per sponsored post. It can be difficult to get to that level if you aren’t already a little famous (Kim and the Kardashians originally became known to the world through their E! reality show, Keeping Up with the Kardashians), as fame tends to beget fame. Some influencers choose to buy instagram likes to boost their popularity, which can be very effective—while others try to collaborate with their more famous colleagues to boost their profile. However, nowadays it seems like even the most micro of influencers have some kind of product deal in their pocket, which raises the question — if everyone can be an influencer, is anyone really an influencer?

This is not to say that influencers do not have their positive sides as well. Take cryptocurrency, the blockchain-based currency that is all the rage for novice and seasoned investors alike. The accessibility of cryptocurrency — you don’t need to set up a brokerage account, for example — makes it appealing to young investors. As a result, there is now a burgeoning industry of blockchain and cryptocurrency influencers. While there are some who will peddle the latest meme coin — like the popular dogecoin — for a quick buck, there are also accounts who answer questions on investing, give tips, and explain the ins and outs of cryptocurrency — what is blockchain and how does it work? — to their followers, increasing their followers’ financial literacy. But these influencers appeal to a niche crowd and have a specific target audience they appeal to. 

Perhaps we as a society have outgrown the concept of influencers. But if they truly want to make a comeback, they should think about going back to their roots and connecting with their followers on a more personal and authentic level. Maybe then the next time they want to promote the latest new skin or hair care product, we might actually listen.

We've talked before on this blog about the potential applications of blockchain in medicine. I would like to share some more thoughts, as I think this is an area that is still poorly understood. For healthcare professionals, it is important to remember that blockchain is a technology that can be used to store many types of data in a decentralized way. We have already seen a number of projects that store patient data on blockchain.

But this is only the beginning - in the near future I believe we will see blockchain-based protocols that will allow patients to own their medical records and will give them the power to decide who to share them with and under what conditions. In this post I’d like to clear up some misconceptions about privacy in particular.

Background: What is Blockchain?

To understand how blockchain works, you need to have some basic knowledge of cryptography and a general understanding of how the internet works. Blockchain is a distributed database that allows parties to record transactions in a secure way. It is an open, distributed ledger that can record transactions between two parties efficiently and in a verifiable and permanent way.

What does this mean in simple terms? Imagine a spreadsheet that is duplicated thousands of times across a network of computers. Then imagine that this network is designed to regularly update this spreadsheet and you have a basic understanding of the blockchain. What makes the blockchain unique is that it is both distributed and immutable. This means that the data can't be altered. It can only be added to. The blockchain contains the history of every transaction and keeps track of who has what.

Blockchain in Healthcare

Blockchain technology, as we've seen, allows for the decentralization of medical records. This means that the information is stored and controlled by the patient. It is also public, so that researchers and other medical professionals have access to the data. This has the potential to reduce the cost of healthcare by reducing the need for error-prone manual data entry and by preventing malicious modification of data. The blockchain can also make it easier to share medical records between different institutions and countries.

The blockchain can also be used to store medical data that is generated by medical devices. It can also be used to store data from clinical trials, genomic research and electronic health records.

Standing Out

One of the most interesting aspects of blockchain in the medical context is the transparency it adds to the whole medical system. Think about this not just in terms of patient records, but also patient outcomes. If you're a medical practitioner, you probably want people to know what you're good at. Blockchain allows you to publicize this in a transparent and secure manner.

This benefits the patient as well as the service provider. Praxismarketing, as we would say in Germany, is very important, and a good marketing strategy will get you a long way - we know this much already. What the effects of blockchain will be here is speculative, but it's exciting to think about.

Blockchain and Anonymity

Of course, a database of public medical records sounds like a scary prospect. Who wants all their medical details exposed in a big online immutable ledger? The good news is that there are ways to anonymize data, so that you don't have to worry about your friends, family and coworkers knowing about your medical history. It's also possible to make it mandatory that certain pieces of information can be viewed only with your permission, or that certain data can't be viewed by certain people.

In the near future, I believe we will see a number of blockchain-based applications that will allow patients to own their medical records. These will be applications that are based on permissioned blockchains. They will allow patients to decide who can see their medical records and under what conditions. I also believe we will see blockchain-based applications that will allow patients to store their medical data in a decentralized manner. These apps could be used by patients to store data about their health and to track data about their medical history.

Permissioned Blockchains

What is the difference between a permissioned blockchain and a public blockchain? The main difference is that in a blockchain that is permissioned, only some parties have the ability to write to the ledger. This can be important when the parties want to ensure that they are the only ones who can write to the ledger. In a permissioned blockchain, the parties involved have to agree on the rules that govern the functioning of the blockchain.

The mathematics behind this security is complex, and to be honest I don't understand it completely. The basic idea is that by verifying a transaction, you essentially prove that you did the work to check that it adheres to the rules of the blockchain. The main advantage of this is that you can have a high degree of confidence that a transaction is valid. You can also have high confidence that the records are updated in a secure way.

Challenges on the Road Ahead

I believe that blockchain is going to have a big impact on medicine in the near future. The technology has the potential to improve the way we store data, the way we share data and the way we access data. But as with any new technology, there are challenges that need to be overcome.

The first challenge is speed. Right now, there are not many blockchain-based platforms that can process transactions quickly enough to be used in a real-world environment. The Bitcoin and Ethereum blockchains are slow and expensive, and other blockchains are still slower and more expensive.

The second challenge is scalability. The data stored in a blockchain grows linearly, so it's important to make sure that the blockchain can scale as the amount of data stored on it increases. In addition, there is a big difference between the number of transactions that are made on test networks and the number of transactions made on the mainnet. If the network can't handle the number of transactions that are being made on it, the system will be unusable.

The third challenge is privacy. The security measures that are used to keep data private in a blockchain can have the unintended consequence of slowing down the network. This is especially true if the network is being used to process a lot of small transactions.

The fourth challenge is regulation. This is a big issue, and a topic for another day.

The Bottom Line

There is no doubt in my mind that blockchain will have a major impact on medicine. Right now, it still has some challenges to overcome, but it's definitely something to keep a close eye on.

Our lives for the past two decades have gradually become more and more digital. With this increasing reliance on data, there is an increasing reliance on places within which we can store that data. Providers of cloud data storage enable users to store their company’s data, their music and e-books, as well as data from their online scheduling tool and calendars. In this case, the users are able to synchronise their online calendars across their devices via a cloud storage platform. The platform can manage its users’ client bookings and customer timetable, and can even update it in real-time and synchronise those changes across all devices.

Although the embryonic beginnings of cloud storage can be traced back to the 1960s, cloud storage as we know it now is used in part as a substitute for our PC’s hard drive. What does this cloud form of storage bring in comparison to its cold storage counterpart? It allows users to utilise programs in order to synchronise their devices, share records, and more easily access the contents of their smartphones.

Although traditional cloud storage providers take precautions to ensure that their users’ data is protected and unavailable to view by other members of the cloud network, they still reserve the right to access your files: 

‘Like most major online services, Dropbox personnel will, on rare occasions, need to access users’ file content (1) when legally required to do so; (2) when necessary to ensure that our systems and features are working as designed (e.g., debugging performance issues, making sure that our search functionality is returning relevant results, developing image search functionality, refining content suggestions, etc.); or (3) to enforce our Terms of Service and Acceptable Use Policy. Access to users’ file content is limited to a small number of people. We have strict policy and technical access controls that prohibit access to file content except in these rare circumstances.’

The realm of blockchain technology promises to make changes within the cloud storage domain as well. New blockchain-based, decentralised cloud storage platforms aim to provide their users with fully decentralised cloud storage which is more affordable and more robust than their traditional cloud storage competition. For example, they encrypt and distribute their users’ files across a decentralised network, preventing access to those files by third parties. One new decentralised platform charges $1-2 per 1TB of storage, compared to a traditional provider which charges $23 for the same amount of data. 

Another player in the blockchain cloud storage game charges $4 per TB for their standard plan. Moreover, they offer a free plan which they aim at developers looking for storage for smaller projects. Their free plan allows a storage limit of 150GB per month for a maximum of 3 projects (50GB allowance for each project). Users’ files are encrypted and stored on geographically diverse nodes, making data breaches virtually impossible. From these nodes, each stored file is then split into 80 pieces. So, why split up the files? The company explains: ‘Splitting files yields unparalleled performance and durability. Our decentralized architecture offers improved out-of-the-box security and privacy for our customers and enables more reliable performance than traditional cloud storage providers.’

These file object pieces are then globally distributed across the thousands of nodes which operate alongside the blockchain. There are over ten thousand nodes across 84 countries worldwide. Furthermore, you only require 29 pieces of your 80 piece file in order to retrieve it. That means that if one of the nodes storing your file pieces goes offline for whatever reason, your data is still retrievable. The platform also boasts an ‘automatic repair process’ which is activated if too many pieces of your file are lost. And unlike traditional cloud storage, this platform has multi zone functionality built into its system, meaning that you won’t pay extra for increased availability. 

This means entirely tamperproof cloud storage for your files:

‘We like to think of it as a completely new standard for data security. You don’t have to trust us, that’s just how it works. It’s what we call trustless—we’ve taken trust out of the equation entirely. We couldn't read your data even if we wanted to. If someone else wants to access your data, they would need to first constitute your file from the network—already a tricky and complex task without strict authorization from our system—then they would need to break AES-256-GCM encryption, which protects the world’s most sensitive data and classified information. It’s not going to happen.’

AES-256-GCM looks terrifying to any lay reader. If we break it down briefly into simpler terms, we are better able to understand why we are told it is unbreakable by current computing power. The 256 in the code refers to its key length of 256 bits, which means it supports the largest bit size (256). If we operate with encryption of a key length of 1 bit, in contrast, there are 2 possible combinations with which to break the encryption. If the encryption is 2 bits, 4 combinations; 4 bits, 16 combinations. This exponentially increases with every key length until we reach 256 bits which corresponds to 1.1x10^77 possible combinations. 

So even with the most advanced current computing power available to us, the number of possible combinations required in order to access files stored on these encrypted cloud storage blockchains is unthinkable. Legacy storage companies are certainly facing competition from the new chains on the block. 

Hospitals are places we rarely like finding ourselves inside of. From the overpowering stench of cleaning solutions and great deal of stress these places induce, most want to stay as far away as possible. But, the reality is that they are crucial to the health of a population, which makes it all the worse when considering their major shortcomings. 

In 2019, the industry was found to be worth $3.8 trillion or 17.7% of America’s gross domestic product and it's no wonder why. American healthcare is legendary for being grossly overpriced when compared to other developed nations. The system is outdated and in need of change. With hospital costs reaching all-time highs in the last decade and breaches of patient data security, what can be done? Enter: blockchain technology.

Blockchain technology is the foundation of many different digital assets like bitcoin and it may be the thing to take the healthcare industry to the next level. Here are some ways that blockchain technology could change modern healthcare as we know it.

The Blockchain, Explained

The field of blockchain technology is extremely technical and notoriously difficult for many to wrap their heads around. But, it can be understood most simply as a secure database of receipts.

Every time a transaction is made with blockchain technology, the “receipt” of that transaction is logged, confirmed on a block, and added to a chain of other blocks (which is why it’s called a blockchain). Thus, all transactions that have ever taken place on that specific blockchain are stored and confirmed for as long as transactions are occurring on it.

This receipt proves ownership of the digital asset (i.e. medical records and receipts) and lets the owner do what they please with it. The healthcare industry could adopt this mode of patient record confirmation and fundamentally change how the common person goes about accessing it.

Blockchain’s Benefits in Healthcare

Ultimately, this field could stand to benefit the patients not only financially, but personally as well with added control over security and access to medical records.

Firstly, the financial benefits of a blockchain system are numerous. For one, the mistakes that occur throughout the financial process of patient care could be cut down tremendously. With the existence of blockchain technology in this field, the staff could communicate and access things through one system. Gone would be the days of healthcare workers bouncing between multiple different programs trying to log patient expenses, record patient updates, and store data long term. With this, the likelihood of misdiagnosis due to poor communication could be slashed as well, saving the patient and hospital thousands in wasted capital. 

One of the biggest changes that could come about; however, would be specified in the area of patient records. To talk more specifically, the security of patient records has been in jeopardy for the last decade in America. The Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights predicted that around 176 million breaches of healthcare occurred from 2009 to 2017. Blockchain’s roots in cryptography are a strong reason why it is seen as such a capable tool for this issue.

This challenge could easily be solved with the adoption of blockchain technology as each person would hold a public and private key, just like in cryptocurrency. This would make large-scale hacks of hospital records not possible anymore as the individual accounts of patients would need to be hacked one at a time.  

Also, the ease of access to individual medical records would make life for the average citizen instantly better. Things like prescriptions would be contained in one system. So by having the tool that hosts that blockchain, like on your phone in the form of an app, would make buying needed products much easier and cheaper. You could also utilize such an app to find over-the-counter medication and products like CBD rich hemp oil for sale, which are becoming more popular around the United States due to their potential for medicinal and therapeutic use. On top of that, proof of vaccination could be contained on one easy-to-use app and make travel a common part of life again. 

Lastly, with the pandemic slowly fading in the background, it is important to recognize the power of gathered information when it comes to viral outbreaks. Information is crucial for scientists and health care workers to fight and defeat an outbreak. The ability to secure, easily access, and effortlessly log data in this scenario is priceless and has the potential to save a lot of lives. This could also be said with common medical research, which would also stand to benefit from this system.

Healthcare is an indispensable field for everyone and to see any change that creates an efficient, more secure outcome can make all the difference. This is why blockchain technology stands to turn the modern healthcare industry on its head and give more power to the individual when it comes to their health. Making these changes now could save not only time and money but more importantly the lives of many.

 

Everyone is aware of the mania surrounding teenage bitcoin millionaires. Many of the college students publishing on this blog are excited by the future. As a guest writer, I'm certainly a lot older and more experienced, which means I'm slightly skeptical of all this hyperactivity and mania. I certainly have seen things like this before. I thought I'd share some of my thoughts as an entrepreneur and seasoned investor. I've been through various hype cycles before. It is clear to me that while blockchain technology will be a multi-trillion dollar market, most of the money will be made by the companies and startups that are building real products and services on top of it, not by the direct application of the technology itself. It's bound to be commoditized by larger players who are already entrenched, such as large banks. So if money is to be made by the products and services, then the question becomes: Which ones?

We're in the first inning of the blockchain and bitcoin revolution. Currently, there are a lot of very smart people working on a lot of very interesting projects. I'm not claiming that I'm going to pick winners, but there are a couple of things that I believe are crucial to the success of blockchain companies.

1. First mover advantage

Some of the most successful companies in blockchain are the first movers. The "killer app" of DApps will be a huge breakthrough into mainstream consciousness. As a very clear and literal example, many people did not know about cryptocurrency, and many people even now, still don't. But a lot of people have heard of bitcoin, even people who have no idea what it is. Why is that? It's the first mover in the space. There are going to be new and exciting industries that are successful purely because they're the first one in the space.

2. Find a need in a new market

It is clear to me that blockchain technology will be used in a bunch of different ways in the future. One of the most interesting categories is those places where the current cost of transacting is too great. Like tipping someone, or donating a few coins to a homeless person or street performer. In recent years, coins have become less and less popular, and less valuable too, because people are just carrying around their phone, and using Apple Pay to pay for things in stores. In some countries, there are buskers and homeless people who accept card payment, because of this trend. There is a big cost in terms of transaction fee, for accepting card payment, and so lots of things (business activities, or content creation) that you might get paid 5c for (for example, viewing a website story online), are just not possible now, because the transaction fee for accepting 5 cents is more than 30 cents. It just doesn't make sense! So, with new blockchain technology emerging, that might enable such expensive transactions to become cheap and easy, there will be a number of new industries emerging. In my opinion, these industries will be big winners. There is a clear need, and an opportunity for a company to build a great company and a great business.But it's nearly impossible to predict what they will be, today.

3. Build a software company

This is very different from a company that uses blockchain directly, but this article is about profitable picks and shovels, so that is an example of that. As more and more of the world's infrastructure, contracts, deals, and processes move onto the blockchain there is going to be a greater and greater demand for great software to be built, to run it. Many riches will flow to the companies that can do the best mobile apps development, or the best enterprise back end software, because the leverage is so great when combined with blockchain. These are the companies that will be the biggest winners from the blockchain revolution.

It's not about the hype

Many of the most successful blockchain companies are not at all flashy. They're not trying to get attention, they're not trying to tell anyone about what they're doing. They're just building their product, helping the community, and making the best product they can. Without hype or fanfare, some of the most successful blockchain companies are not the first movers in the space, but they're the leaders. They're the ones helping the community, putting out the best product, and doing the most to help people in the industry.

One of the most successful companies in the blockchain industry today is Coinbase. Coinbase is a company that is providing a great service to the blockchain community. The company has raised millions of dollars, and has millions of users. Yet, their business model is a basic one: Allow users to buy and sell Bitcoin. Simple as that. This is clearly a company that is focused on the right things, and is building the right thing, and the right strategy.

Conclusion

Focus on creating value for customers, not on the hype or the technology. Picks and shovels are just as profitable as mining the gold itself, if not moreso.