In recent times IBM has been testing a new platform that pegs cryptocurrencies to the U.S. dollar. There hope is that by providing a more “stable” currency, it would make for a better payment option due to the many issues faced by merchants when accepting payments for goods or services.
So far, IBM has been somewhat of an early adopter to blockchain. They have created many different solutions for banks, financial institutions, and a string of other business-related needs.
Despite all of these new innovations however one has to question whether what IBM is accomplishing really fits with the true spirit of blockchain’s formation and whether IBM is not creating just better managed database systems.
If we are to support such a currency, how would we know it would go towards the progression of decentralization and freedom from censorship rather than being an entry point for centralized blockchains?
This is a common argument that has been held by many who seek to better understand blockchain technology.
As stated from Stripe’s Claire Johnson from a recent Fortune brainstorming, “…but really isn’t that just using the word blockchain to describe better database management? You could do digital signatures, timestamps, Merkle trees, and frankly there is a central actor…”.
We are much in agreement that blockchains should not only be created for actual use cases and not thrown around to mean we’re creating a better managed database but also that blockchain technology should be a self-sustaining system that cannot be controlled by a single party or that oversees all of the interactions.
For now, interested parties could find the new currency on the Stellar blockchain network under the name Stronghold USD after the tech startup behind the project. We believe that this is helpful, but we’re interested in more non-fiat backed digital currencies that could be a better payment option moving forward.