In a blockchain utopia, society (and economic transactions) work precisely because no one has to trust anyone else anymore. But the truth is that trust is actually the foundation for modern society and economies, and blockchain doesn’t eliminate the need for trust, but merely shifts trust from people, and the institutions they create, to software.
Yes, software. What could possibly go wrong?
Before you get too comfortable with the idea of software ruling the world, imagine, for a minute, that you’re not a developer. Or imagine that you’re not as good a developer as the person on the other end of that blockchain. (You’re not. Trust me.)
To better understand why this matters, True Link Financial founder Kai Stinchcombe first explained how contracts work in our existing system, using a book transaction as an example: