The professor of the Institute of Technology of Massachusetts (MIT), Silvio Micali, affirmed that the blockchain technology can allow the creation of an economy without borders.
Micali is an Italian-American computer scientist who currently works at the MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory. His research focuses on cryptography theory and information security.
In the interview conducted by Bloomberg on January 21, Micali described three main properties of the blockchain systems that must work simultaneously to allow a more inclusive economy without borders: security, decentralization and scalability. For Micali, only two of the three properties have been achieved simultaneously: security and decentralization.
So, regarding scalability, the professor argued that a decentralized system really needs more advanced technology to provide the same level of participation and trust enjoyed by centralized systems. On the other hand, when he spoke about the security of the block chain, he pointed out that centralized systems are more vulnerable to hacking, compared to blockchain systems.
" Only a true decentralized system, where power is really so widespread that it will be practically impossible to attack everyone and when it is not necessary to trust this or that particular node, will really bring the security that it really needs and deserves, " said Micali.
The cryptography specialist has shown skepticism about Bitcoin in other interviews. " I am very optimistic about the opportunity represented by cryptocurrencies to change the world and the way we do transactions between us. But I do not think Bitcoin is the solution we are looking for, "Micali told a Spanish newspaper .
In that interview he commented that what Bitcoin needs to become a revolutionary technology is to solve its scalability problems: "It would have to be scalable to allow thousands of transactions to the second. Bitcoin can produce a maximum of nine transactions per second. And then what? "