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Why Ethereum is outpacing Bitcoin

venturebeat.com

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Re: Why Ethereum is outpacing Bitcoin

#81

Post by zefman »

root_axis wrote: post #37

> As a “hard fork” looms, which looks set to split Bitcoin into two separate currencies that will have to fight for custody of the Bitcoin moniker This already happened to eth when the creators hard forked the chain in an effort to roll back operations of an eth application that was used in a way that the creators did not anticipate. If this didn't kill ethereum why would it be a problem for bitcoin? Fortunately for…

> Ethereum is actually a platform for new kinds of decentralized (often financial) applications (dApps) that run on a peer-to-peer network of computers

There are a few very interesting things in the pipeline. Here are a few: https://golem.network/ https://status.im/ https://gnosis.pm/ https://basicattentiontoken.org/ https://augur.net/

Re: Why Ethereum is outpacing Bitcoin

#82

Post by root_axis »

mquander wrote: post #73
root_axis wrote: post #37

> As a “hard fork” looms, which looks set to split Bitcoin into two separate currencies that will have to fight for custody of the Bitcoin moniker This already happened to eth when the creators hard forked the chain in an effort to roll back operations of an eth application that was used in a way that the creators did not anticipate. If this didn't kill ethereum why would it be a problem for bitcoin? Fortunately for…

Except this isn't actually happening in practice. I am yet to see any "new kinds of decentralized applications", just toy applications that have no practical purpose besides internet roulette So, uh, how about all those ERC20 ICOs? I admit that you may wish to classify them as "Internet roulette."

What do they actually do? I understand the purported significance of ERC20, but it is not clear why these tokens are actually useful. Literally anyone can mint them... in fact that's the point.

Re: Why Ethereum is outpacing Bitcoin

#83

Post by anothercomment »

jraines wrote: post #55

The ICO mania definitely contributes to this, but so does the worry about a Bitcoin split. I've read a lot about it and could not give you a coherent answer of what is likely to happen and what would be the impact if it does or does not happen. So people like me (probably in top 5% of knowledge among Bitcoin holders about the technical aspects) put holdings in other coins to wait and see. The coins that stand to bene…

But even with a Bitcoin split, what would be the problem? You would simply double your coins (kind of).

Re: Why Ethereum is outpacing Bitcoin

#84

Post by aakilfernandes »

maxxxxx wrote: post #30

Isn't that basically a currency with hyper-deflation? Shouldn't a currency be relatively stable to be useful for payments?

Absolutely agree, and Ethereum is a great platform for building those stable currencies. Check out Stabl and Maker for two orgs trying to make this happen.

But its also trivial to issue fiat-backed tokens on Ethereum (at least from a technical PoV). See Digix who is doing this with Gold.

Re: Why Ethereum is outpacing Bitcoin

#85

Post by drcode »

root_axis wrote: post #79
drcode wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> it's essentially vaporware and all signs point to the conclusion that it will remain that way for the foreseeable future. Here's the ethereum proof of stake code that will go live on ethereum sometime this year: https://github.com/ethereum/research/blob/master/casper4/sim... This is the actual production code (though of course still in draft form, under review) > just toy applications that have no practical purpose…

> Here's the ethereum proof of stake code that will go live on ethereum sometime this year Until it goes live, it's vaporware. The issue isn't "can proof of stake code be written" the question is "will eth continue to function safely and correctly using a proof of stake system"? We'll talk when it hits production. > The UN uses an ethereum app to send aid to Syrian refugees via vouchers: The details are not really cl…

> Until it goes live, it's vaporware.

That's a ridiculous definition. So nobody can advertise that they plan to add a novel feature to a piece of software, even if the code already exists in draft form, without being labeled a vaporware peddler?

Re: Why Ethereum is outpacing Bitcoin

#86

Post by yellowapple »

ssharp wrote: post #12
yellowapple wrote: post #5

"In a world where people are used to online payments being confirmed instantly, Bitcoin transactions can take anywhere from tens of minutes to several hours, depending on how busy the network is." Online payments (via traditional means) are by no means "confirmed instantly". The authorization happens more-or-less instantly, but that's only the first of multiple steps in the transaction process; the actual transfer of…

For someone buying something, authorization is all that matters.

Kind of. It's at least the part that matters if you want to walk out of the store with your merchandise. It's not the part that matters on your card statement, though.

Re: Why Ethereum is outpacing Bitcoin

#87

Post by nemo44x »

It's simple - Bitcoin is stagnant and full of politics and holy wars where as ETH is implementing everything Bitcoin promised 5 years ago.

Bitcoin is facing an existential crisis August 1st (UASF) that some view as liberation and others as extortion. As if BTC wasn't high risk enough!

Yes we haven't seen a single ICO that has resulted in anything worth anything yet and we probably shouldn't any time soon. Yes the rise in ETH the last few months is comical. Yes there are plenty of scams out there right now and some we don't even know are scams yet. But it's damn exciting.

Anyone with an imagination can see this. It's the wild west and it's fun and crazy. And there's a real opportunity here to do something different. 99.9% of these early things are going to fail but there will be a breakthrough eventually I believe. And when that happens...

Re: Why Ethereum is outpacing Bitcoin

#88

Post by azeirah »

komaromy wrote: post #33
pdog wrote: post #17

It's pretty clear what's happening. Ethereum (ETH) is rising because people are buying into initial coin offerings (ICOs). They aren't holding ETH, so they don't care about the price of ETH rising in terms of Bitcoin (BTC) or dollars. The ICOs are the significant holders of ETH. They haven't sold their ETH because 1) the price of ETH is still rising rapidly, 2) they don't yet need to access the funds for development,…

What % of all ETH is currently held in ICO accounts?

The fun thing is indeed that neither the Ethereum optimists nor the sceptics have concrete numbers to back up their statements.

The skepticism is healthy, the optimism interesting, the discussion unfortunately remains fairly immature, on both sides. I hope we'll get more academic and professional insight soon.

Re: Why Ethereum is outpacing Bitcoin

#89

Post by root_axis »

zefman wrote: post #81
root_axis wrote: post #37

> As a “hard fork” looms, which looks set to split Bitcoin into two separate currencies that will have to fight for custody of the Bitcoin moniker This already happened to eth when the creators hard forked the chain in an effort to roll back operations of an eth application that was used in a way that the creators did not anticipate. If this didn't kill ethereum why would it be a problem for bitcoin? Fortunately for…

> Ethereum is actually a platform for new kinds of decentralized (often financial) applications (dApps) that run on a peer-to-peer network of computers There are a few very interesting things in the pipeline. Here are a few: https://golem.network/ https://status.im/ https://gnosis.pm/ https://basicattentiontoken.org/ https://augur.net/

> in the pipeline

And that's the crux of it. As I said, I'm yet to see anything that's actually useful. There are a lot of claims about all the amazing things that will be possible at some point in the future, but besides internet gambling, I've yet to see a demonstration or even a coherent explanation of something useful that these systems are capable of that isn't already possible and less complex with existing systems. (Just so you know, I was already aware of status and augur, but I examined your other links as well before responding)

Re: Why Ethereum is outpacing Bitcoin

#90

Post by azeirah »

aaron-lebo wrote: post #27
pazimzadeh wrote: post #22

Between this and Fred Wilson's recent comments, it's pretty neat seeing a meme take shape right before our eyes. I'm not saying this article is wrong, but that it offers little substance. My pet theory is that Ethereum will transiently surpass Bitcoin in market cap in the next weeks, triggering a 5x surge in Bitcoin's price. Ethereum will then follow, and what happens next is anyone's guess. Why do I think that? Uh..…

Why is Ethereum's price rising? It's because of breathless articles like this. It's a self-fulfilling prophecy. Wonder how much this guy has invested? If those dapps are so great, why isn't there a single one that regular people are using today?

There is real movement in the ethereum space. I'm on mobile right now but check out the ethereum enterprise alliance. The other big thing would be ICO's, for better or for worse.
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