New advances in long-term data storage technology could make it possible to create blockchains, which are unchangeable digital ledgers that can store data for millions of years without power.
Blockchain technology is based on the idea that data is safer in a decentralized ledger than on a computer that is controlled from one place. If there is a local power outage, the ledger is still safe as long as other nodes are still running. This is different from a centralized server, which needs power all the time to store and send data.
Computers today often have battery backups that keep data safe for long periods of time during power blackouts. However, both decentralized and centralized storage systems could be at risk in the future.
Blockchain Resilience Amid Blackouts
A global blackout, which could happen because of a natural accident that changes the Earth’s magnetic field or an electromagnetic pulse (EMP) from outside the Earth, is one of these threats. It could stop electronics from working.
In these kinds of situations, people wonder what will happen to blockchains if power goes out everywhere. If the power comes back on, it makes sense that blockchains would start working normally again. However, if power went out for good, it’s possible that most data, including blockchain transactions, would be lost forever.
In the unlikely event that people go extinct, a lot of our data would go with them. Books and magnetic tapes, which are old ways of storing things, would break down over time, but digital storage would probably last for thousands of years. Data that is kept in very long-term storage systems is the only kind that will last.
Luckily, there are already technologies that can store data for very long amounts of time. Two of these ways are DNA storage, which encodes data into artificial fossils, and Ceramic Nano Memory, which stores data on glass and might be able to keep it forever. Both have been used to keep important data safe for future generations, even though they weren’t made for blockchain networks in particular.
Because of this, it would be smart to use artificial fossils or ceramic nano memory shards to keep the cryptocurrency white paper and other important records safe. This would give people in the future a look at our technology and might make it possible for blockchain networks to come back to life as they were at a certain point in time.
Using technologies for storage that do not consume energy, it might be possible to make a copy of a blockchain that works, which could possibly store instructions for restoring it. It’s interesting to think about how to make blockchains that last forever, though the details would depend on the limits of the medium.
