Charles H. Miller
Accenture thinks that the immutability of a blockchain is not a feature — it is, or at least could be, a bug. So they have filed for a patent that would make blockchain “editable,” thus enabling select parties to change information stored in a (public) ledger.
The idea, according to the firm’s Blockchain practice managing director David Treat, is to be able to “fix things when they go wrong” in an effort to help move the technology toward “maturity.”
“This invention adds to that set of options, particularly for on-chain data structures, and we’re excited about the patent approval,” Treat said. “Our overall goal is to leverage DLT [Distributed Ledger Technology] innovations to make the technology viable for enterprise IT use.”
If implemented, Accenture’s technology would allow enterprises “under extraordinary circumstances” to “resolve human errors, accommodate legal and regulatory requirements, and address mischief and other issues, while preserving key cryptographic features.”
Under the proposed system, a secret key may be assigned to one or many parties. Or, for an added security, multiple individuals may be assigned parts of a secret key so that all of them could sanction or approve any access or changes made to the ledger.
Treat said this project is still in the development stage, with experts continuing to improve the prototype system. “We have had strong industry interest and have had several requests to open-source the capability which we’re considering,” he added.
5 reasons why Accenture thinks immutability is not good for blockchain progress
In September 2016, Treat wrote a piece for CoinDesk, arguing that absolute immutability will slow blockchain progress. He did say the immutability feature has brought many users to the platform and that it is viable as is for cryptocurrencies; however, he argues, the situation is different for other uses cases.
1. Data storage
In a world where every transaction remains on the blockchain permanently, its size will continue to grow and eventually pose challenges around data storage. Currently, transaction volumes are low (compared to “regular” transactions) but as more users are joining the platform, new solutions will be required.
2. Illegal actions
Here, Treat points out to the DAO hack, which was resolved but not without issues — that’s why we have Ethereum and Ethereum Classic. On an immutable blockchain, illegal or nefarious activities could stand uncorrected. If (or when) blockchain is widely accepted technology, making a soft or hard fork won’t be that easy.
3. Operational errors
Treat argues that human error won’t ever be completely eliminated. Mistakes will happen, and a system that can’t be changed won’t work for huge volume of transactions. A reverse transaction may not cut it at all times.
4. Permanent mischief
Somewhat related to the previous point; when a mischief happens, it will remain on the blockchain forever. Some of the things that are already embedded in the Bitcoin blockchain include pornography and more than 250,000 classified US diplomatic cables disclosed by Wikileaks. You may not see them, but they do occupy a chunk of the ledger. In a regulated industry like financial services, such risks will have to be mitigated.
5. Regulatory concerns
Privacy and personal information may be incompatible with an immutable blockchain. The EU’s General Data Protection Regulation had (and still has) financial institutions scrambling to ensure their nascent blockchain platforms will adhere to these strict regulatory guidelines. And the US Fair Credit Reporting Act, the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act and the SEC’s “Regulation S-P” all require personal financial data to be redactable — something that is not possible on an immutable platform.
Treat concludes that since we live in an imperfect world where mistakes will be made, data will need to be updated after an event and records like personal information will need to be deleted to meet regulatory requirements.
Not everyone agrees…
And this includes individual investors in cryptocurrencies, as well as several blockchain experts.
One of them, BKCM LLC founder and CEO Brian Kelly thinks that making editable blockchain is inadvisable, adding that such capability threatens the industry’s ability to fight irregularities with the game-changing blockchain technology.
We agree with that point of view, but also understand that some industries will be required to embrace an editable blockchain. However, those “permissioned” ledgers will likely be internally used by corporations; as opposed to the public ledger(s) used by the general public.
