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Why Ethereum is outpacing Bitcoin

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131–140 of 140 posts

Re: Why Ethereum is outpacing Bitcoin

#131
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…

There are few technical details available publicly yet. I've been looking for more reliable sources.

Here's the World Food Programme referencing the system with no technical details: https://www.wfp.org/news/news-release/wfp-introduces-innovat...

Here's a Coindesk article (who are obviously very pro-crypto, but more pro-Bitcoin and less pro-Ethereum) from today on some vague details: http://www.coindesk.com/united-nations-sends-aid-to-10000-sy...

I'm still trying to find out how this all worked. There have been articles saying this was their plan in various sources for over a month, though. I'd like to know as well. It's at least clear there was a program involving digital vouchers.

Found one --- here's Wired Germany outlining that it was in fact Ethereum the UN/WFP used with IrisScan to provide a benefit payment method for refugees. They are still scant on specific technical details, but if you are really starved, then it sounds like you should contact Parity.

https://www.wired.de/collection/tech/blockchain-fluechtlinge...

Re: Why Ethereum is outpacing Bitcoin

#132
post #59

> 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…

> 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…

I can't find any source apart from this (which is NOT cited on Coindesk): https://www.wfp.org/news/news-release/blockchain-against-hun..., it does not say the same thing.

Re: Why Ethereum is outpacing Bitcoin

#133

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do you have a citation for large organizations buying up ether? I only came across articles mentioning corporations forking ethereum code and testing it out for other purposes.

https://entethalliance.org/members/

Where does it say they are buying up ethereum?

Re: Why Ethereum is outpacing Bitcoin

#135
post #129

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> do things with money without human help 24 hours per day This was already possible before cryptocurrencies, hence how I'm able to buy anything online at any time of day and have it delivered to me within 24 hours.

blockchains with smart contracts can automate away entire financial industries; title holding company comes to mind.

Explain how smart contracts would automate away a title holding companies.

Re: Why Ethereum is outpacing Bitcoin

#136
post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

People have been expecting the crypto bubble to pop for almost a decade now, but prices continue to rise. At some point you have to admit that this isn't tulip bulbs.

Sounds like the argument folks were trying to make about the housing market, and we know how that turned out.

There was a major correction and prices eventually rose close to their previous highs?

Re: Why Ethereum is outpacing Bitcoin

#138

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Sure, the idea is that now it's easy to mint your own currency to do stuff with. That wasn't so easy before! So Kik is minting a currency to serve as Weird Premium Kik Points, and GameCredits is minting a currency that you get by playing Candy Crush or whatever, and BAT is minting a currency that represents attention you paid to ads, and Augur is minting a currency that makes an incentive structure for reporting prediction market results, and so on.

This is plausibly better than if they had just rolled it by hand outside of Ethereum for a few reasons, e.g.

- You automatically have a way for users to trade real value for your currency via ETH. (This is probably easier for devs than setting up Paypal or Stripe integration, but harder today for users.)

- The currencies are something you have that's more tangible and auditable than an entry in some company's bespoke centralized database. Everyone can see it and believe in it.

- Users can easily send the currency to each other by default without all the transactions having to go through you. (I don't actually know whether this is a pro or a con for many use cases.)

- It's trivial to make interoperable software that accepts or holds or sends these currencies, like exchanges and wallets.

- The above facts probably mean that there is something like an open liquid market for your currency, if anyone cares about it. That means people can perform mutually beneficial trades! Mutually beneficial trades are mutually beneficial.

As to whether it's useful to have a bunch of currencies for different things, I think so? I mean, there already are a ton of things like this in software which behave as de facto currencies -- free-to-play games and MMOs are a good example -- and those seem like they would be well-suited to be ERC20-style tokens. And as someone who believes in incentive structures, I'm excited about the prospect of quantifying more things which are currently vagaries ("attention", "reputation", "compute time") into currencies with a market. Augur's design is a good example of this.

Re: Why Ethereum is outpacing Bitcoin

#139
A lot of articles mention the likes of Intel, Microsoft, Infosys, Samsung, J.P. Morgan etc — are building software using Ethereum or some other blockchain platform. But I wonder if they actually are just forking the code off of Github and creating their own blockchain or ethereum-based Microsoft token, or Intel token for their own internal use and this is being misrepresented by cryptocurrency-owning journalists.

It seems to be too risky for big companies to build DApps for the authentic Ethereum when they can't predict that the price of gas won't quadruple again. Creating their own blockchain could mean cheaper or free gas with all of the upsides to using ethereum and an added customization ability.

If this is true, then the price increases in ethereum have been unfounded.

Re: Why Ethereum is outpacing Bitcoin

#140

A lot of articles mention the likes of Intel, Microsoft, Infosys, Samsung, J.P. Morgan etc — are building software using Ethereum or some other blockchain platform. But I wonder if they actually are just forking the code off of Github and creating their own blockchain or ethereum-based Microsoft token, or Intel token for their own internal use and this is being misrepresented by cryptocurrency-owning journalists. It…

Other companies use private ethereum blockchains. The worst part is that Ethereum community called Ripple a scam coin because banks don't actually use it for transactions but they didn't care to realize that ethereum is the same
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