mintBlue: The world only needs one blockchain because only one works

by Arthur · April 26, 2023

Blockchain’s potential will only be realized when we understand the need for a single, global ledger of truth. Enterprise-focused firm mintBlue says blockchain is “revolutionizing accounting” with its peer-to-peer, trusted bookkeeping layer, but we need to start thinking of it as a “protocol” rather than just a “technology.” Its power lies in its ability to connect several different devices to one network, not trying to build new or private blockchain networks for different purposes.

mintBlue published a blog post saying blockchain is “more complex than people think,” adding that those pushing for wider adoption have been in the technology’s “Trough of Disillusionment” for years. Instead of adoption, we have seen more and more incompatible blockchain networks being developed and pilot tests all of which failed because they were too narrow/small scale (usually within a company) to be useful.

Adding to blockchain’s tendency to disappoint was the use of “so-called layer two solutions” to combat scaling, speed and cost issues, and “private blockchains” that essentially act as databases and defeat blockchain’s purpose.

MintBlue CEO Niels van den Bergh said:

“The end game of blockchain in the accounting sector is the possibility of a so-called “triple entry” bookkeeping system, where every credit and debit transaction between several companies is interconnected, enabling seamless bookkeeping that can save companies significant administrative costs. workforce.”

It is necessary to have a blockchain that actually works well at the task of being a single, global ledger to achieve these goals. The Bitcoin protocol, released to the public in January 2009, had everything required to do this. It was fast, cheap and scalable. But the years following its release saw attention shift to speculative trading of its original token and attempts to cripple scalability in pursuit of “decentralization” – leading to higher costs and limited utility like BTC.

BTC’s self-imposed limitations caused developers to break out and try to create better blockchain networks, most of which have run into their own problems by doing too much in the wrong places (e.g. Ethereum trying to do on-chain computation) or by re – reinventing the wheel with technological variations that don’t work well under pressure. We’ve seen fancy new hybrid consensus mechanisms, the rise of the “proof of stake” counter-ignition, and networks that require constant reboots to sort out kinks (e.g. Solana).

BSV, which today is the only blockchain network bearing the “Bitcoin” name that still follows Bitcoin’s original protocol rules, proves that Bitcoin was the world’s accounting solution all along, with the ability to scale unlimitedly to process the entire world’s data without increasing usage costs.

Recently, mintBlue has shown what Bitcoin and blockchain can do by bringing together multiple partners with digital standards. These include the Swedish accounting software company VISMA|yuki, the Dutch Chamber of Commerce and Qualified Trust Service Providers (QTSP) in other countries.

Their own lawsuit has “led to the disconnection of data and software.” VISMA|yuki users can choose to store their business data on BSV’s public blockchain while retaining 100% ownership and control of that data. Invoice information is added to the BSV ledger using standards such as XML and Universal Business Language (UBL) that any traditional invoice processor can process. It also follows EU data law and the FAIR data principles for findability; Availability; Interoperability; and reusability.

Another important aspect is establishing Bitcoin’s digital signatures as something linked to legal identities. This not only cements data ownership and enables access control, but can also reduce financial fraud by connecting data to real individuals and entities. All data processed on the BSV blockchain can remain there permanently, leaving a tamper-proof audit trail that internal and external investigators can examine.

mintBlue develops the SDKs that allow any business or other entity to encrypt, decrypt and filter information on the client side. Although the BSV blockchain itself is public and open for anyone to use, information stored on it can remain private and verifiable by controlling access with master and subkeys.

Using a single, trusted ledger based on a rock-solid protocol is the right way to demonstrate blockchain’s usefulness to the business and accounting world. It is necessary to promote education about blockchain and its best uses for everyone to understand – over time this will lead to wider blockchain adoption, less time and money wasted on tried and tested programs, and (hopefully) less hype about digital asset values and speculation.

Contrary to what some claim, having multiple competing blockchains is no more possible than proposing multiple competing internets. The latter proposal would sound silly in 2023, although that didn’t stop companies from trying this in the mid-1990s. Over time, the importance of one set of protocol rules that can handle data of several different standards will emerge.

Watch: Pieter Den Dooven explains how they solve real problems with mintBlue

New to Bitcoin? Check out CoinGeeks Bitcoin for beginners section, the ultimate resource guide for learning more about Bitcoin – as originally envisioned by Satoshi Nakamoto – and blockchain.