Cardano’s founder is dreaming of a blockchain-powered future

Once regarded solely as the core component of the crypto infrastructure, blockchain technology has evolved and matured considerably over the years, with many people attaching high hopes and expectations around its future development. Some have even compared blockchain’s disruptive capabilities to the impact that the Internet once had on communication.

Cardano’s founder, Charles Hoskinson, is one of those who seem to think that blockchain is destined to achieve a lot more than it has so far and become a transformative force that will drive positive change in our modern society. 

Hoskinson, although a somewhat polarizing figure, is widely regarded as a pioneer in the crypto industry, so his stance on blockchain aligns with his outlook regarding technological progress. He is the creator of one of the most innovative crypto projects, Cardano (ADA), but his ambitions and vision go beyond this one invention, just like blockchain’s potential goes well beyond learning how to buy cryptocurrency.

Therefore, it comes as no surprise that his concerns are not strictly limited to his brainchild or the ADA data, which are but one drop in the extremely vast and crowded crypto/blockchain ocean.

A future underpinned by blockchain 

Speaking at Consensus Hong Kong, one of the most important events on blockchain and emerging technologies, Hoskinson said that he wishes for a future where blockchain is no longer an experimental tool confined to the finance sector, but becomes a robust base layer for all consumer apps, from social media platforms like Tinder and Facebook, to video games and other similar products and services.

When discussing the possibility of a Tinder that would run on this advanced technology, Hoskinson mentioned that it would allow users to prove that the personal information they share with others, such as height, income, and location, is indeed truthful.

This would be a huge improvement for dating apps, where users are known to lie quite often about their characteristics or provide fake/modified pictures of themselves, in an attempt to curate a more desirable image that would attract more matches.

He also said that integrating blockchain into these types of products could bring in an additional 2 to 3 billion users, which would completely reshape the ecosystem for all parties involved.

As for how this integration should look in practice, Hoskinson underscored the necessity of a seamless implementation, saying that consumers shouldn’t be burdened or bothered with technicalities, as the technology can be adopted at scale even without them being aware of the inner workings.

He used an analogy with electricity to prove his point: there’s no need for anyone to care about how electricity functions because all one has to do is flip a switch. By extension, we could say the same thing about the Internet. Most people don’t know how it truly works, and that doesn’t stop them from using it on a daily basis.

The blockchain advantage 

Seeing such a strong endorsement for expanding blockchain’s use cases, you might naturally wonder what makes Hoskinson so convinced that this technology would be such an effective and game-changing solution for mainstream consumer applications.

Blockchain’s appeal lies in the fact that it can improve nearly all aspects that are of great interest to users, starting with security and privacy. In this particular area, blockchain technology can ensure users’ data is thoroughly protected by storing it across a decentralized network of nodes, which makes it virtually impossible for anyone to alter it in any way, and thus eliminates the risk of data breaches, identity theft, or fraud.

Since blockchains are designed to operate independently from intermediaries or central authorities, users also get full control and ownership of the data and assets stored on these networks. No technology so far has been able to provide this level of autonomy and freedom.

Transparency is another major incentive for blockchain integration, as the technology guarantees the data is easily accessible to all authorized participants, so anyone who uses the blockchain can see all the transactions and activities that have taken place over time and verify the information they’re interested in.

It’s also important to mention that having apps run on a blockchain infrastructure would reduce operating costs considerably because it would eliminate the middlemen and the extra fees they typically incur. And finally, there’s the smart contract functionality that many blockchains boast, which allows for self-executing contracts and reduces the need for manual intervention.

More on Charles Hoskinson 

Hoskinson is quite a popular figure in the crypto industry, but some might not know that he also played a key role in Ethereum’s development as one of the co-founders, alongside mastermind Vitalik Buterin. However, displeased with the direction the company was taking, he parted ways with the Ethereum team and decided to establish his own project, one based on principles of rigorous scientific research and peer-reviewed papers.

That’s how Cardano was created in 2015. The end goal was to create a superior blockchain that would have none of the scalability, security, and performance issues that previous systems struggled with. For that, the developing team implemented a series of advanced solutions, such as Hydra, a Layer-2 scaling protocol, Mithril, a multi-signature scheme for node synchronization, and Midnight, a privacy-focused sidechain.

All these innovations were agreed upon after rigorous academic peer review. This attracted criticism about Cardano’s slow development compared to other blockchains, but Hoskinson remained firm in his decision to prioritize scientific accuracy and an evidence-based foundation over fast progress. So, Hoskinson is one of the OGs of the crypto space, as kids these days would say, and his project remains one of the most intriguing and promising initiatives in the industry.

For now, Hoskinson’s vision of a blockchain-based future for consumer apps remains a bold dream that might one day come true, but there’s quite a long road ahead as the technology is still going through the expected growing pains and there are still many challenges and obstacles to overcome.