Review on Blockstack by Fanuel PORPORTY
Blockstack is a protocol and toolkit for developers of decentralized applications.
Blockstack is focused on building the new hidden layer of the decentralized internet, by creating an easy-to-use infrastructure for future app builders to create on. They are making the building blocks of the new internet. The team argues that there are centralized points of failure in the hidden layer underneath the current internet, such as the Domain Name System (DNS, the central registry for all website names) or Certificate Authorities (CAs, they approve the https tag on websites). By decentralizing these vulnerable points of trust and recording things like domain names on the blockchain, Blockstack hopes to make the internet’s structure safer.
Web addresses are held on a centralized DNS server, so they are susceptible to attacks like DDoS or spoofing.
Pros
- By removing points of centralization for layers like domain names, security certificates, cloud storage, etc., we decrease the risk associated with each layer.
- The BNS records addresses on a blockchain, from which the network of users download a copy of the full index. Since each user holds a full copy of the address system, they are not forced to trust a single authority. Risk of attack is reduced.
- Unlike the DNS, BNS names aren’t limited to official “websites”. Users can set up their own names as well, using the “.id” namespace created by Blockstack. The .id names act as personal identities in the Blockstack ecosystem. This not only benefits from all the technical stuff, it allows for two major UX improvements over the current website & crypto landscape such as no more passwords and human readable blockchain addresse like “Leriche. id”.
Cons
- Still a bit too "technical" for beginners.
- In a decentralized internet, there isn’t a place for government regulation, which is potentially problematic in some circumstances.
- There may also be security risks — if terrorists are using the internet, how do we shut them down if there isn’t a central place through which information flows?
- Blockchain isn’t totally foolproof — there are a few ways that it can be hacked. “If 51% of the network of miners, or of work done by miners, is bribed to alter the ledger, this can result in corruption and incorrectness in the ledger.” Additionally, if one of the nodes of the blockchain network is disabled and it cannot communicate, it may be compromised.
