According to CoinMarketCap, there are now more than 2,000 blockchains kicking around online, and things are about to get a whole lot busier.
A new advanced partnership between web giant Amazon Web Services and blockchain ecosystem Komodo, called Chainlizard, will enable the creation of blockchains on the Komodo network in less than 60 seconds—Amazon is planning on releasing its own version of a managed blockchain later this year. A demo version is already live, but when the complete version gets the green light in Q2, 2019, it will not only provide a bespoke blockchain, but include nodes, a block explorer and software wallet. We decided to put these claims to the test.
Using Chainlizard, we set up a blockchain in under 60 seconds and called it, yep, you guessed it, Decrypt Chain. It took just a few steps. First, we chose the name for our blockchain, then we selected the number of pre-mined coins we wanted to be made--250,000. Finally, we entered in the number of nodes we wanted Amazon Web Services to spin up, we went for two. After waiting a few moments, we were the proud owners of a freshly baked blockchain.
So, could we do anything with this blockchain? Sadly not. While we created a blockchain, to turn it into something usable, like fixing the Irish border, you need to set up your own nodes. At present this requires some serious tinkering, but we're told, this part of the system will be developed into a standalone service, and be easier for luddites to adjust. For now, we can see the time and date it was created, certain parameters (name, current supply of coins, etc) and the IP addresses of the nodes that are set up. It’s all very exciting.
So how much is this blockchain in a box service going to cost? It's likely to be similar to Amazon’s blockchain service—which runs on Hyperledger Fabric (Ethereum support coming soon)—that costs just shy of $500 per month for a testnet. With the barriers of entry lowered for anyone wanting to put things on the blockchain, expect the number of live chains, and the list of “things that probably shouldn’t be on the blockchain” to keep our resident cynic busy this year.