I see a lot of value in blockchain tech that cannot be replaced by any DB. In fact a DB is incomparable with a blockchain. Whatever you can do today with an average blockchain requires a lot of upfront work to make a system that works to replicate any of the value that a blockchain brings.
First of all it functions as a currency which inherently brings with it a lot of value. You can exchange and hold virtual currency with minimal fees. This applies primarily to proof-of-stake blockchains (Algorand, Tezos, Cardano). Ethereum/Bitcoin have due to proof-of-work become less a currency and more an investment. There's more value just holding them than actually converting them.
Blockchain tech is trustless and decentralized both of which is very valuable to me personally. I've lost trust in the modern banking system. I guess the turning point at which I became more attent to what the financial salarymen are doing was the 2008 financial crisis. But I'd say that's just the tip of the iceberg. Between all the tax havens hiding billions in plain sight, various scandals such as Wirecard, disappearing money balance on my bank accounts, evaporating loans for large defunct companies, there is just so much crime based around hidden centralized systems. I see blockchain as having the potential to level the field in a system where (centralized) banks are just trying to ripoff the average Joe.
Then we have the stablecoins which work as a safe haven for hyperinflation. While I'm not affected I find this a very serious use case. There's a constant set of countries that are failing to stabilize their local currency and who knows when this is going to hit the reader. Being able to keep value to your monthly wage is a use case in a failing economy. Stablecoins have been found to be an essential part for decentralized finance and pretty much every smart contract-capable cryptocurrency is/has added them.
Also note that having a wallet for a cryptocurrency does not incur monthly charge. Banks charge you for just keeping a balance if you have more than X amount of currency on you account. There's also no maintenance costs which are common for some types of accounts. And plenty of crypto currencies allow you to stake and get a passive income that is higher than what you get on any bank account.
Then there's the DeFI loans. You can basically take a loan as long as you lock a collateral. That's the only condition. Now feel free to go read any of the contracts you signed for a leasing/loan and compare the user experience. DeFI loans are risky due to possibility of liquidation but I see this tech improving and maturing moving on.
While this may sound like I'm the greatest fan I'm more of realist. Blockchain does have a lot of issues. Account recovery is a impossible. Scams are rampant. Transaction speeds are a lot slower than non-blockchain tech can do. Also the immature community praying for a 10x is a pain to follow. But saying it's just a bad DB is plain false.
First of all it functions as a currency which inherently brings with it a lot of value. You can exchange and hold virtual currency with minimal fees. This applies primarily to proof-of-stake blockchains (Algorand, Tezos, Cardano). Ethereum/Bitcoin have due to proof-of-work become less a currency and more an investment. There's more value just holding them than actually converting them.
Blockchain tech is trustless and decentralized both of which is very valuable to me personally. I've lost trust in the modern banking system. I guess the turning point at which I became more attent to what the financial salarymen are doing was the 2008 financial crisis. But I'd say that's just the tip of the iceberg. Between all the tax havens hiding billions in plain sight, various scandals such as Wirecard, disappearing money balance on my bank accounts, evaporating loans for large defunct companies, there is just so much crime based around hidden centralized systems. I see blockchain as having the potential to level the field in a system where (centralized) banks are just trying to ripoff the average Joe.
Then we have the stablecoins which work as a safe haven for hyperinflation. While I'm not affected I find this a very serious use case. There's a constant set of countries that are failing to stabilize their local currency and who knows when this is going to hit the reader. Being able to keep value to your monthly wage is a use case in a failing economy. Stablecoins have been found to be an essential part for decentralized finance and pretty much every smart contract-capable cryptocurrency is/has added them.
Also note that having a wallet for a cryptocurrency does not incur monthly charge. Banks charge you for just keeping a balance if you have more than X amount of currency on you account. There's also no maintenance costs which are common for some types of accounts. And plenty of crypto currencies allow you to stake and get a passive income that is higher than what you get on any bank account.
Then there's the DeFI loans. You can basically take a loan as long as you lock a collateral. That's the only condition. Now feel free to go read any of the contracts you signed for a leasing/loan and compare the user experience. DeFI loans are risky due to possibility of liquidation but I see this tech improving and maturing moving on.
While this may sound like I'm the greatest fan I'm more of realist. Blockchain does have a lot of issues. Account recovery is a impossible. Scams are rampant. Transaction speeds are a lot slower than non-blockchain tech can do. Also the immature community praying for a 10x is a pain to follow. But saying it's just a bad DB is plain false.