THE ADVOCATE 697
VOL. 80 PART 5 SEPTEMBER 2022
BLOCKCHAIN FOR BLOODFEUDS*
By Eric Kroshus
Have you seen my TED talk? No? Oh … who is Ted? Oh no, it
isn’t a name, it’s an acronym. T.E.D. An acronym—you
know, where each letter stands for something. What does it
stand for? Well … I don’t think anyone actually knows. But
it’s a speech, Kirill, can you tell them that it’s an 18-minute speech about
ideas that change the world? And tell them that I gave a particularly popular
TED talk about the potential applications of blockchain for governance.
“Great question. Kirill, tell them that’s a great question. That’s ok, I’ll wait.
Did you tell them? Ok, perfect. Thank you. So, blockchain is a distributed digital
ledger which enables transactions to be verified by a network of peers
rather than by a gatekeeper. And once those transactions are—what did they
say? What’s the question? Kirill, that’s ok, interrupt me if they have questions.
“Distributed. Similar to decentralized. As in without a central authority
certifying things or making decisions—power is spread across the network.
Power is contained within the network, not just at one node. That’s what distributed
means in this context. Anyway, these transactions can be of any
sort—that’s what makes blockchain so compelling. The possibilities are
endless! Have you heard of NFTs?
“N.F.T. Another acronym, that’s right. It stands for Non-Fungible Tokens;
their use in the art world is one of the blockchain’s most exciting applications
right now. Basically, it’s when artwork—say a picture of something—
is uploaded onto a blockchain as a data file. Because of the blockchain’s
architecture, you can buy that data file—the piece of art—and know with
certainty that you own a unique digital asset.
“No, everyone can still see the artwork by downloading the file for free.
But the ownership is irrefutable, that’s what’s key here. You have what’s
called ‘proof of ownership’, and—
“No, not the copyright. That usually stays with the original artist.
“What’s the point? Well, the ownership can be sold and traded. And there
is an irrefutable record of each purchase. Look, I’m glad you’re so interested
in NFTs—I am too—but let’s get back to the blockchain for a moment.
* This story came third in the 2021 Advocate Short Fiction Competition.