I'm realizing I already wrote a post called Magic Words three weeks ago.

The concepts of that post were much more generic regarding technology.

I'm looking to be a bit more specific this time around.

The concept of ownership is particularly interesting, especially when blockchain is concerned. When we are talking about DLT, the content of a message matters less than the person/entity that actually said it.

Bitcoin

For example, on the Bitcoin network if Bob declares his intent to give Sally 1 BTC, this is completely different than Victor saying he wants to give Sally 1 BTC. The content of the message was the same: 1 BTC is being transferred to Sally. However, the person declaring this statement completely alters the message entirely.

If either Bob or Victor do not have the money in their wallet, the transaction will be declined by the network. If the transaction is accepted by the network, 1 Bitcoin will be deduced from the person who made the statement. Again, the message and outcome of the transaction was the same, yet the person/wallet making the statement completely changes the interpretation and state of the network.

Adapting this concept to Hive.

Things get even weirder when we apply these concepts to our own platform. If I write a post and get rewarded $10, someone else can't just copy/paste what I wrote and automatically expect to get $10. Even if someone copies exactly what I wrote word for word, the same message is not conveyed to the network.

It is in this way that no one can actually plagiarize what I post to the blockchain. The only way one could do that is if they had access to my private posting key, which would become immediately obvious to me and I'd change it and let everyone know what happened.

Extending the idea to gaming.

I've made it no secret that I'm attempting to create a Cards Against Humanity clone using NFTs and provable ownership of cards. Although I haven't explained it super well on chain, this is the perfect example of literally owning combinations of words directly on the blockchain.

When I first started brainstorming the idea I thought to myself:

This is a stupid idea; someone can just copy what I'm doing and give it way for free.

It will be open source after all.

But then I realized that exact same mentality applies to every cryptocurrency including Bitcoin. Anyone can come along and fork the Bitcoin source-code and gift themselves as many Bitcoin as they want. Anyone could create a Bitcoin network with any ruleset imaginable.

That's why crypto is so amazing, it's not the code that has the value, but the network. If I can create a network of people who think owning CAH cards has value rather than booting up a free-to-play version, then it will have value. If someone tries to come along and make it free, that network will have no value, just like if someone tried to do it with Bitcoin.

Conclusion

Words are magic. Communication is the only thing elevating humanity above the rest of the animal kingdom. Without the ability to communicate, we wouldn't know anything or be able to build on top of our wealth of historic knowledge. No one would know 2+2=4 without being taught by another person. The foundation of education relies on consensus of information. Crypto is the ultimate extension of data consensus. Currency is the language of conveying value.

We are entering a potentially exciting and terrifying reality. Bitcoin is a hedge against the establishment, and its primed fundamentals could make us early adopters very wealthy with the ability to fund and upkeep our own projects & communities. At the same time, Bitcoin is a hedge against the legacy system; for it to do well in the long run the empire world needs to be turned upside down. One thing is certain: extreme disruption is visible on the horizon.

Return from Magic Words: Provable Ownership on the Blockchain. to edicted's Web3 Blog