.. it is once again important to note that block­chains do NOT sol­ve pri­va­cy issues, and are an authen­ti­ci­ty solu­ti­on only. Hence, put­ting medi­cal records in plain­text onto a block­chain is a Very Bad Idea. Howe­ver, they can be com­bi­ned with other tech­no­lo­gies that do offer pri­va­cy in order to crea­te a holi­stic solu­ti­on for many indus­tries that does accom­plish the desi­red goals, with block­chains being a ven­dor-neu­tral plat­form whe­re some data can be stored in order to pro­vi­de authen­ti­ci­ty guarantees.

Tech­no­lo­gy will never know exact­ly who someone is.

The cur­rent chall­enge, as we sit near the begin­ning of this cycle, is to cut out the hype and iden­ti­fy the uses and appli­ca­ti­ons that will stand the test of time. Being awa­re of the strengths and weak­ne­s­ses of block­chain tech­no­lo­gies will help peo­p­le to under­stand their real poten­ti­al and pre­vent them from reinven­ting things that work well enough. …  Block­chains are just one of the tools in our tech­no­lo­gy toolbox.