If you go out seeking to learn from their proponents why blockchains and the systems built atop them are apparently the future of our web, you'll begin to see some common themes. Two of the ones I see most frequently are:
- Decentralization: data in blockchains are distributed across innumerable servers run by innumerable people and organizations, rather than stored on servers controlled by one organization
- Immutability: what is written to a blockchain cannot be changed or deleted, unlike more traditional databases
These fall apart under further scrutiny.
Moxie Marlinspike had a very similar set of comments to make last week after some experimentation that are also worth a read.