Permissionless

What does Permissionless mean?

At the most intuitive level, the idea that disintermediated markets generate more efficiency and freedom.

Main Idea:

The ideas of permissioning and permissionlessness crop up in many discussions surrounding blockchain. Database and application users might think immediately about restricted access to certain data or directories which is a logical, technical, and more complicated topic to tackle.

Typically, permissionlessness is interpreted literally as not having to ask permission. To illustrate why, let’s take a quick look at blockchains’ most prevalent use cases: as public ledgers for transactions of cryptocurrencies.

Background:

A large part of the cryptocurrency ethos is to be able to transact without going through an intermediary, such as a bank. Many cryptocurrency supporters also desire independence from the control of an entity such as a central bank and appreciate the industry has not been controlled by the traditional elite.

Because the underlying production for cryptocurrencies is crowdsourced, trading is open for business 24/7 around the world. Thus, permissionlessness conjures the idea that retail participants are able to participate in financial markets on their own terms, without requiring permission from anyone.

Used in a Sentence:

Two profound implications of permissionless blockchains are 1) it puts underused resources to work in a more frictionless economy and 2) it makes services conveniently available.

Last Updated: February 25, 2023