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- Trent Lapinski threw light on the dark side of the blockchain technology.
- Blockchain records proving to be beneficial in enhancing privacy or being used for wreaked manipulation merely depends on the intention of the developer.
- China has been implementing a dystopian social credit system. He doubts why an authoritarian communist government is investing in a supposedly free-market technology.
Trent Lapinski who previously wrote about Blockchain technology owning the potential to prove itself at times when the strongest of economies have been let down now talks about the darker side of the blockchain-tech and crypto industry in general.
Trent Lapinski is a technology executive and former hacker. He wrote about decentralization’s power to answer the economic crises happening at present in an article to Cointelegraph dated March 25, 2020. However, in another article on April 12, 2020, he also threw light on the dark side, this technology could be used.
Blockchain-corrupted World
He questioned if one can live in a world where records and documentation of every purchase made and every interaction one has with others are made.
He addressed the possibilities of this tech being used to evolve the world in unwanted ways. The world where everyone could be manipulated daily into rating each other in a corrupt social rating system. He stated the dry probability of the recordings of every move and every website visit.
China’s Evil Credit Systems
He also clued-up about China has invested in blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies. And also the fact that it has been implementing a dystopian social credit system. He further questioned why the Chinese investors are backing up several prominent cryptocurrencies and blockchain projects.
He doubted about why an authoritarian communist government is investing in a free-market technology, referring to China’s cover-up of COVID-19.
Blockchain consisting of an immutable record has benefits for privacy and protection of the rights, no doubt. But the matter of worry is the fact that it could use for manipulations. Hence, the intention of the developer decides if the records will prove to be beneficial in enhancing privacy or the use of wreaked manipulation.
Violation of Privacy amid COVID-19 Lockdowns
Trent drew attention to the causes of violation of privacy and civil liberties. This is in efforts to track everyone’s location data amidst COVID-19 lockdowns—for instance, the US and UK governments.
The matter of concern he said is that the very western countries that valued freedom, privacy and free markets are implementing surveillance and China-like social credit systems.
Corruption of Blockchain-Tech
The history of bitcoin (BTC) and blockchain technology tells that the algorithms and concepts were born out of the Great Recession of 2008. Bitcoin designed to be incorruptible by the powers of the authoritarian governments. However, those same world governments are now seeking for blockchain solutions they control. They invest in Blockchain to tighten their grips and not to free us from their restraints.
He said that the systems China has implemented are of enslavement and control and are nothing about social.
Few modifications in the code can lead the Blockchain to be corrupted by authoritarians to build social credit enslavement systems. Trent enlightened the probability of privacy becoming vulnerable with the use of Blockchain’s underlying infrastructure.
Trent’s Caution to Blockchain Workers
He lastly cautioned the workers on blockchain technology to know who they work for, who is funding them, what their ultimate intention was. He further added that if they can sell what they’ve built to an evil empire and if the systems designed for freedom could be centralized and used to create a social credit system. Therefore, he concluded questioning about the immutable record being used against us.
