Dr Craig S. Wright, Chief Scientist at nChain, held the first edition of his Bitcoin Masterclass series at an exclusive venue in London in January. The two-day immersive course forms part of a monthly series aimed at helping attendees understand the fundamentals of Bitcoin and the technology behind it.
The Bitcoin Masterclass series will give you a comprehensive overview of Bitcoin’s history, theory and design. Wright discussed the future of Bitcoin and the unbounded scalability of nChain’s blockchain solutions with potential use cases across several industries.
In the fourth session on the second day, Wright offered a review of all of the topics covered across the two-day masterclass so far.
The issue of identity
One of the clearest themes that emerged over the two days is the issue of identity and what that means when using blockchain technology. The relationship between blockchain and identity is complex and multifaceted, with different perspectives and applications.
One of the most significant benefits of blockchain technology is its ability to provide a secure and tamper-proof system for storing and sharing sensitive information. This is particularly relevant for identity management, as it can be used to verify and authenticate identities without relying on a central authority or intermediaries. By creating a decentralised identity system, blockchain can empower individuals to control their personal data, reduce the risk of fraud and identity theft, and increase privacy and security.
However, Wright went to great pains to dispel the myth that blockchain offers total anonymity and that the importance of anonymity is often overstated, even in situations where it may seem necessary, such as in medical research or voting.
He also reiterated the fact that true privacy is not easy to establish or maintain and that in certain situations, one may need to prove their identity, such as when verifying asset ownership. The challenge then becomes linking data while maintaining privacy for certain attributes.
Full recap
You can find a full recap of the Bitcoin masterclass presentations below: