I break down a false dichotomy between “centralization” and “decentralization” in the the blockchain industy. I then discuss the true promise of blockchain-backed system design — systems that are secure and correct even when the parties using the system do not trust each other.
blockchain, cryptocurrency, trust, decentralization, Sharon Goldberg is the CEO/Co-Founder of Commonwealth Crypto, a Boston blockchain startup that is making cryptocurrency trading more secure. She is also an associate professor in the Computer Science Department at Boston University, where her research focuses on securing the protocols that provide many of the global internet’s core functions. She is an inventor of the TumbleBit protocol for secure anonymous blockchain-backed payments, and her blockchain research has resulted in modifications to the BTC, ETH, BCH, LTC and ZEC protocols. She received her Ph.D. from Princeton University and is the recipient of two IETF/IRTF Applied Networking Research Prizes, an NSF CAREER Award, an N2 Women Rising Star in Networking and Communications Award and a Sloan Research Fellowship. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at