Blockchain is not for speculation

On October 24, at the 18th collective study session of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized that the integrated application of blockchain technology plays an important role in new technological and industrial changes, and clearly required that blockchain be regarded as an important breakthrough and main direction for independent innovation of core technologies, and that we increase investment, focus on conquering a number of key core technologies, and accelerate the innovative development of blockchain technology and industry.

This has injected confidence into blockchain concept stocks, and many blockchain concept stocks have reached their daily limit. It can be expected that the blockchain field will usher in a thriving scene with hundreds of boats competing in the current, which will undoubtedly help promote the rapid development of the domestic blockchain industry.

However, while actively encouraging those units and individuals who are prepared and capable to invest in the blockchain industry, it is also necessary to curb the pure speculation and provide a clean market environment for the development of the blockchain industry. In other words, while encouraging, we need to intensify efforts to crack down on the so-called currency and blockchain circles in China that are suspected of pyramid schemes and fraud. Because there are too many people in the currency and blockchain circles who use the name of blockchain to conduct pyramid schemes and fraud activities.

It has to be said that blockchain is an emerging industry with a very strong professionalism. Its real core is not its unique technology, but the mechanism design ideas and logical forms it adheres to.

Nowadays, when people talk about blockchain, they focus on its mechanism design ideas and logical forms, such as distributed accounting, traceability, full network consensus, immutability, asymmetric encryption, smart contracts, etc. In fact, more than that, the real effect of blockchain is to provide a brand-new solution for my country to further deepen reform and opening up and clarify the boundaries between the government, the market and society.

First of all, the design idea of ​​blockchain mechanism is to establish the trust relationship between the market and society based on procedural justice, and provide people with procedural justice to do things correctly. However, blockchain itself cannot solve the problem of value judgment. For example, the distributed accounting, traceability, timestamp, network-wide consensus, non-tamperability, asymmetric encryption and smart contracts that blockchain upholds mainly close the evidence chain of information, but cannot effectively assign values ​​to information. Because information itself is incomplete, different people have different understandings and value evaluations.

Of course, this design concept of blockchain provides an effective mechanism for incentive and constraint compatibility for all parties involved through network-wide consensus and immutability. Although this will sacrifice efficiency, it will directly exclude fraudsters in the process. Because in the blockchain industry, once you are labeled as dishonest, you will be easily excluded - no one is willing to reach a consensus with someone suspected of fraud.

Therefore, from this perspective, blockchain actually helps to improve the ability and efficiency of market and social self-discipline and autonomy, and promote the self-consistency of the market and society.

At the same time, the blockchain industry can effectively reduce the cost of government regulation. Often, the biggest problem faced by government regulation is the high cost of discovering illegal and irregular behaviors. Therefore, many developed markets have reduced administrative discovery and enforcement costs by introducing class action lawsuits, defense evidence systems, and reconciliation systems.

Once the economic and social ecology is improved and reshaped through the idea of ​​blockchain mechanism, the blockchain's characteristics such as full-network consensus, distributed accounting, traceability, etc. will enhance the ability of administrative and judicial departments to detect illegal and irregular behaviors and reduce their administrative discovery and enforcement costs.

Secondly, although blockchain has the ability to improve the market and social self-discipline and autonomy, and also has the right to punish dishonest people, blockchain does not have the attributes of public power, and its constraints are soft constraints, not hard constraints. This is the reason why the so-called chain circle and currency circle in China frequently cheat, cheat, and collect IQ taxes in the name of blockchain.

To this end, there can be no order without rules. On the one hand, the administrative and judicial departments should actively embrace blockchain, and transform or even reshape the e-government system through the mechanism design ideas of blockchain, so that public power decision-making and execution processes can be traceable and cannot be tampered with.

On the other hand, administrative and judicial departments should also increase their protection of market and social order, and put an end to illegal acts such as fraud and deception by some criminals who use the name of blockchain and privileges such as asymmetric encryption.

In short, while increasing the application and research of blockchain technology, we must also establish a public order and good legal environment where blockchain is not speculated on and purify the market's impetuousness.

□Liu Xiaozhong (columnist)