Accenture executive: Bitcoin's immutability is a major flaw

An article from the New York Times titled “Bitcoin’s Downside: The Unamendable Ledger” has angered the crypto community. The article, authored by Accenture executive Richard Lumb, claims that Bitcoin’s immutability could “severely limit” its functionality.

Is immutability a disadvantage of Bitcoin?

The Accenture executive believes that blockchains are supposed to be modifiable and that Bitcoin’s immutability could lead to legal issues.

It is important to note that there are many cases of shenanigans and corruption within the banking industry, such as the recent Wells Fargo scandal. Lumb explained that Accenture’s clients, which include some traditional banks, want to know how the “right to be forgotten” applies to blockchain technology. Lumb noted in his article:

“The immutable nature of blockchains could eventually conflict with existing regulations. For example, the U.S. Fair Credit Reporting Act, the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (Financial Services Modernization Act), and the SEC’s Regulation SP Act all require that personal financial data be easily modifiable.”

(Richard Lumb)

Lumb also praised the reversal of The DAO vulnerability in the Ethereum ecosystem. He said that Ethereum's decision to release the hard fork code was a good idea, and he also praised the Ethereum Foundation for showing leadership. When it comes to blockchain "purists", Lumb said that they often focus too much on immutability.

The article from the New York Times made headlines on the r/ethereum forum. It also became a hot topic on major Bitcoin social media pages, with community members calling the author a sophist.

The author stated in the article:

“At Accenture, we are working with leading academics to develop a prototype that would make blockchains modifiable or prunable if necessary (in collaboration with regulators).”

What Lumb doesn't understand is that the Bitcoin network is 100% voluntary, it is not a P2P network created just for traditional financial institutions. If private transactions are necessary for an individual or entity, then Bitcoin users must use confidentiality technology to conceal their actions. Otherwise, they are consenting to make their information public.

In the financial world, centralized ideology always shows up. In fact, today’s finance is already threatened by open networks. Lumb believes that the immutability of the Bitcoin ledger is a flaw, which just exposes his lack of understanding of Bitcoin.

The Accenture executive was unaware that Bitcoin has achieved many of its successes, including acceptance by millions of users, largely because of the immutable nature of its ledger.