> Also, compared to a centralised database, you have an interoperability aspect - if it's just an organisation keeping everyone's balances, it's hard to make those balances interact with the rest of the blockchain ecosystem (e.g. how do you participate in an ICO, if the crypto balances are stored in one system, and token balances are stored in another? implement APIs for every single one of them?)
I'm pretty sure its much easier to make a single request to a single well defined server, as opposed to connecting with a swarm of peers, downloading the entire blockchain, verifying it, and computing your balance by traversing the entire history.
Its not like there is some universal "blockchain API" that computers come from the factory ready to understand. Specialised code has to be written to deal with every new cryptocurrency.
I'm pretty sure its much easier to make a single request to a single well defined server, as opposed to connecting with a swarm of peers, downloading the entire blockchain, verifying it, and computing your balance by traversing the entire history.
Its not like there is some universal "blockchain API" that computers come from the factory ready to understand. Specialised code has to be written to deal with every new cryptocurrency.