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Ethereum Could Be Worth More Than Bitcoin Very Soon (inc.com)
Ethereum is an open software platform based on blockchain technology that enables developers to build and deploy decentralized applications, according to Blockgeeks. It is currently the second most valuable cryptocurrency on the planet, but it could overthrow Bitcoin and become the most valuable cryptocurrency in the near future. Inc.com reports: If you aren't familiar, what Bitcoin does for payments, Ethereum does for anything involving programming and computing. While it utilizes its own version of a blockchain, it is functionally different from Bitcoin. For example, on the Ethereum platform you could host a crowdfunding campaign or any type of "smart contract." Ethereum's goal is to make a decentralized internet. And it has a very good shot at becoming "the new internet," literally. It could one day replace a lot of technology and ways that we host and execute code online. As of the time of writing, Ethereum has a market cap of over $17 billion. Bitcoin's market cap is $34 billion. This makes Ether (the name of Ethereum's token) the second most valuable cryptocurrency in the world. And that number jumped up over $3 billion just yesterday. It's making a major climb and has no end in sight, according to many. The Enterprise Ethereum Alliance is what initially spiked major interest (and shot up the price). Just the other day, 86 new companies joined the alliance.
I have been holding Ether since February and have been accumulating other ERC20 tokens (Golem, Gnosis, etc) that also run on the Etherium Blockchain. Back when I read Microsoft, Intel, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, The U.N., and tons of other Fin-Tech companies were getting in, I was intrigued and immediately converted the majority of my Bitcoin holdings over to Ether after dealing with VERY slow transaction times with Bitcoin and being fed up with it and the thread of a Bitcoin hard fork. Never looking back. Instant payment, low fees, backed by MAJOR tech and finance companies.
Don't forget Etherium was the group touting "the code is the contract" until the very moment someone outsmarted their code, at which point they suddenly changed their mind.
"Hard forking" whenever someone claims the system was abused does not scale to any reasonable size - a blockchain utilized by millions would require "hard forks" every day.
You don't need the entire blockchain downloaded for Etherium or Bitcoin to work. That's only if you want a "Full Node" client. You can run Wallet apps on your system such as Jaxx, or use a Hardware wallet such as Ledge Nano, or a Paper Wallet via MyEtherWallet.com. For Etherium you can use browser plugins for dapps as well. Bandwith is a few kb and small download for the app.
ETH is vulnerable in the same way that any Turing-complete language is.
And that will be its downfall.
The reason Bitcoin's scripting language has a limited command set and heavily scrutinized implementation is to prevent the kilometer-wide attack surface that such a language would allow. ETH already has had their share of problems regarding this, with 75% of the network going down during one of the devs roadshow conferences in China. All the devs had to leave the stage to resurrect the network, lol.
Also, there are two prices, one is the ETH computing token traded price, and the other is a centrally-set "gas" price which is determined by the same group of "genuises" that couldn't forsee the network problem. I'm sure it will be entertaining to some when the distributed app you set up doesn't have enough "gas" to run during a critical demo.
Using market cap to compare cryptocurrencies is a red herring too. I could make "SlashDotCoin" and offer 500 Billion units priced at 1 dollar each, and win that argument. It has no relation to utility whatsoever.
But someone is pumping it, and showing everybody exactly what is meant by "misallocation of capital".
I keep my investments in ISK and gil!
This may have a side effect like a cryptocurrency but it misses the point. Ethereum is much much more, it is a blockchain platform to run anything on participating computers anywhere. Some projects include a distributed decentralized VPN, a version of GitHub where you are paid with Ether or other contract scrip, on and on. Its value is hard to understate if you look past cryptocurrency.
1) blatantly self promoting slashdot "article"
2) magic....
3) profit!