Blockchain helps us answer questions like: what are you trying to prove, and what are you trying to disprove. In some cases (not all cases), you can use the bitcoin blockchain to prove facts about other datasets.

A typical thing you might want to prove is the fact that there’s only one version of this dataset. The fundamental thing that blockchain tech does that is unique in encrypto is it makes things unique and globally consistent.

It’s kind of like selling your house. I can give you the contract and all the contracts leading up to it (including the chain of people who sold it prior to the last one). What cryptography can do is verify each one of the contracts by itself is valid, but what cryptography (by itself) doesn't tell you is was the house ever sold twice? Did I simultaneous make another contract while making a contract with you? So it’s not enough to show that the rules were followed, you also have to show that this version of history (or series of events) are unique.

Blockchains can do exactly this because they are methods of leveraging consensus.

It’s easier than people might realize. The purpose of most software is to let you do things. The purpose of Photoshop is to let you do great things with images. Security software is all about preventing bad things from happening.

Yes, security software let’s you do something, but the thing that makes it different than normal software is what it stops. So you’re evaluation process for any solution has got to start with: what am I trying to allow to happen, and what am I trying to prevent from happening?

Once you're clear on that then you can look at the proposed solution and start talking about capabilities. You can ask yourself does it prevent the things I want prevented. It’s really as easy as that.