When a new issue arises within cryptocurrency, it seems like Hive has the potential solution. The latest fallout is the US Treasury pushing to effectively ban Tornado Cash within the country. It is now illegal for American citizens to use the mixer.
This is getting a lot of publicity with proponents on each side voicing their opinions. Essentially we are looking at a debate about privacy. We know where the government will come down on this. After all, the "war on terror" was a great excuse to trample on the rights of people.
The obvious solution is decentralization and building systems that are outside the control of any individuals. When that happens, it makes it much more difficult to reign in. As we saw with the illegal download of music, the government is truly inept to stop something in the digital world if it keeps reproducing.
Here is where we see something interesting about blockchain. Once something is posted on there, the data can be read by anyone. That means it can also being integrated into whatever application is desired. This is an important point for later in this article.
Essentially, what people build are nothing more than front ends, accessing the data on a decentralized database that nobody controls. It is an advantage that should be leveraged.
GitHub Closes Down Account
One of the moves that did not get a great deal of attention in the Tornado Cash situation was on the development end of things.
Roman Semenov, one of the co-founders of Tornado Cash, reported that GitHub closed his account down even though he was not specifically named in any wrongdoing.
In a Monday tweet, Semenov said that despite not being individually named as a Specially Designated National, or SDN, of Treasury's Office of Foreign Asset Control, he seemed to be facing repercussions from the Treasury alleging Tornado Cash had laundered more than $7 billion worth of cryptocurrency. As SDNs, identified firms and individuals have their assets blocked and "U.S. persons are generally prohibited from dealing with them."
Anyone who is paying attention understands how the governments are trying to turn software developers into criminals. They are are looking to make them (the developers) responsible for the code they put out. While it can be debated how this will turn out legally, it is evident that the companies associated with developers will succumb.
Once again, we run into the same issue. Centralized, third parties are able to wipe out accounts on their platforms. Thus, any data that is stored on the centralized system is inaccessible by the individual or company. Years of work can be wiped out by pressing a button on a computer screen.
Of course, the real issue stems from the fact others are cut off from it. The original coder will have it on his or her system. Updates, made by others, might not have been merged in. Plus, all collaboration, at least as it pertains to this project, is instantly stopped.
This is not much different than we witness with social media. People have their accounts closed for all kinds of inane reasons by the likes of YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter. It seems we keep coming across the same story.
If only there was a way around this.
Enter GitHive
What is GitHive?
It could be a decentralized version of GitHub or GitLab. Both of these are private companies that control people's data. On Hive, we often discuss the concept of immutability. Why not bring this to code?
We know that a Hive account cannot be closed down. As long as someone has the private key, the ability to engage with the blockchain exists. Of course, this is dependent upon having enough Resource Credits to write to the chain. Thus, if both conditions are met, the service would work.
Hive, at its core, is a decentralized database. It utilizes ledger technology (DLT). However, unlike Bitcoin which has a ledger similar to bank transactions, Hive's database houses social media type activities. We know this from the storage of articles that individuals create and post.
From the blockchain perspective, there is no difference between an article about tomatoes and code for a mixer. It is all data, which is structured on the blockchain the same.
Where the difference enters is when frontends are designed. They will integrate the data based upon the configuration within the application.
So why not build a front end (or multiple) that allows for developers to post their open-source code on a decentralized database which they control the keys to the account? The feature and functionality would appear to be possible based upon what we see from the centralized sites.
As recent events are showing, there is a need for GitHive. Immutable text storage is becoming more important as actions by governments mount.
Hive As A Decentralized Data Center
This is something we discussed going back to the introduction of @podping. That application is starting to gain some steam with more being built around it. Basically, this is becoming a centerpiece of "Podcasting 2.0".
Why this is important is because Podping is being incorporated into companies (application) business practices. This means that, as long as it works, these entities are going to keep using it. The last thing companies want to do is to keep changing their core infrastructure which their businesses depend.
Something like GitHive would be similar. Developers who are producing valuable open-source projects while collaborating with others do not need to have their accounts closed down. It is evident this should be a concern since we see it already done.
Once again, we see Hive being able to offer a solution. A frontend specifically designed with the features that developers need which ties into Hive's decentralized data storage could offer up an alternative while eliminating some of the risks associated centralized entities such as GitHub. This would, naturally, only apply to those who were building open-source since most of the code out there requires privacy.
Yet this is a significant part of the market.
We could even go one step further and make the case this is the ideal project to be funded out of the Decentralized Hive Fund (DHF). This would likely bring enormous value to Hive.
Is GitHive a solution that could be built on Hive to fill a void that exists? What are your thoughts?
Let us know in the comment section below.
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