Title: Economic and social sustainability of legacy blockchain for non-crypto use cases: a reality check

Authors: Fazal Raheman

Addresses: Blockchain 5.0 OÜ, Kesklinna Linnaosa, Ahtri tn 12, 0151, Tallinn, Estonia

Abstract: Predicted to be a $3+ trillion industry by 2030, blockchain has still not achieved commercial viability beyond its stupendous success in enabling a multi-trillion cryptocurrency industry. Very high transaction cost and vulnerability to centralisation limits blockchain' s full potential. As cryptocurrency thrives, blockchain struggles to find its rightful place. This paper looks at the public blockchain and its failed attempts at non-crypto use cases to arrive at an accurate diagnosis of what's ailing. Based on a de novo review of the literature, this study formulates and supports a hypothesis on blockchain's economic and social unsustainability. Although economic sustainability trumps environmental sustainability all the time, peer-reviewed literature is mostly silent on its economic sustainability, no one conducts environment damaging activity unless there is economic benefit. So far non-crypto use cases of blockchain have shown little or no economic benefit. Testing our hypothesis may help blockchain researchers define the future generation sustainable decentralised solutions.

Keywords: consensus; decentralisation; economic sustainability; Ethereum; future blockchain; social sustainability; sustainable blockchain; transaction cost.

DOI: 10.1504/IJBC.2023.131634

International Journal of Blockchains and Cryptocurrencies, 2023 Vol.4 No.1, pp.1 - 25

Received: 07 Sep 2022
Accepted: 22 Nov 2022
Published online: 21 Jun 2023 *