2018-8-20 19:09 |
Waiting To Be King? The Five Things That Need to Happen For Ethereum To Take The Crypto-Crown
Ethereum has gained a remarkable reputation as being the king of Smart Contracts, it's a title that's well earned, due in large part to the fact that a large amount of blockchain companies base their systems and tokens on the Ethereum Blockchain.
It's a crypto that is being groomed, somewhat, to become the king of crypto as a whole, but how is it living up to these expectations? We are hearing more and more from the ‘new Ethereum' blockchains such as Stellar and NEO, but what's the matter with the ‘Old Ethereum'?
And, hypothetically, what would Ethereum need to do in order to blaze past these upstart ‘New Ethereum' coins, while also being able to supplant Bitcoin as the undisputed master of Crypto?
The answer to this lies within Ethereum's own ecosystem rather than from the Ether token in question. Ethereum is smarter, slicker and more talented than the Bitcoin protocol. With Decentralized apps (dApps) and Smart Contracts together, they have the potential to revolutionize and create a whole new generation of the internet, what we call ‘web 3.0'.
While major businesses from Banking to the financial world as a whole, have spent a significant amount of time trying to catch up with the developments surrounding blockchain, but now they're starting to work extensively with Ethereum; using it to build dApps using it as a base.
This is a remarkable feat for Ethereum, especially when we consider the fact that its creator, Vitalik Buterin, was only 19 years old when he strung this all together to create what we and many major business names use today.
Unless smart contracts are really on the way for Bitcoin, it’s all about transactions, while Ethereum is much more nuanced.
The possibilities, especially when it comes to applying Ethereum's blockchain and smart contracts systems have been vast; from the worlds of banking and finance to being applied easily to a huge number of games, there's a great deal of exposure that Ethereum's getting. With this in mind, what else would need to happen in order for Ethereum to ascend to Cryptocurrency's metaphorical throne?
1 – A System For Validating Proof Of StakeOne of the things that Ethereum managed to do that Bitcoin didn't, was utilize a whole other system away from the ‘proof of work' mechanism. Proof of Work, as it stands, is a significantly outdated concept that needs to be upgraded for wider spread utilization.
But while Ethereum has ‘Proof of Concept', it's not without its limitations, and the current Casper FFG isn't quite doing the job, but the fact that it's made a significant amount of improvements when it comes to major security limitations is a good thing. It doesn’t replace mining completely, it just shifts power and earnings to the validators.
The hybrid version of Casper that we have at the moment is an interim step, but Ethereum and, by extension, Buterin, look forward to the day when the cryptocurrency community are finally able to ditch proof of work, with the cheaper, more efficient system takes its place.
Bitcoin’s big problem is the transaction fees and the time it takes to process. Ethereum is looking to slash the cost of a transaction and make a usable system.
The reality of the situation for Ethereum is that if it wants this scenario to take place, where proof of work is finally ditched, their ecosystem needs to become more efficient. This is with reference to its current transaction fee algorithms, protocol alignment centers and mining processes, some of which the community are proving effective at addressing.
This requirement goes beyond the current proof-of-stake validation but that proves to be a commanding starting point for future changes.
2 – There Needs To Be Better DappsWhen it comes to the use of any phone, so long as it has a highly effective and efficient interface, with a system that works, that's all that's required. This same rule rings true for the world of blockchain and the decentralized apps (dApps) which populate it at the moment.
When walking through the forest of cryptocurrency and bitcoin, we tend to get so lost among the overgrowth of areas like Initial Coin Offerings, token pricing, including market bulls and bears. But it's important to know that Ethereum, at its very core, is all about functionality and efficiency. Ethereum wasn’t built to make money, it was built to change the world. The former is simply a happy by-product of the latter.
Ethereum is one of the most frequently used blockchain's for a vast number of businesses and developers, so it's no real surprise that there is a large population of dApps built on Ethereum. And really, it's not a shock at all,
The smart contracts mean that we can achieve complex deals without any human involvement. Thanks to Ethereum's system of Smart Contracts, the element of trust between respective human users can be removed from the equation altogether, as it doesn't require them as a component at all.
If the contract manages to fulfill all the obligations of work required, then the receiving party will be paid regardless of the other users intentions. This factor alone means that the trio of middle-management, incompetence and self-interest are cut from the system.
At the moment, there are over 40 dApps available on Google Play and the iTunes app store respectively. But for there to be any meaningful growth for Ethereum, that number needs to increase exponentially from a tiny minority, to a powerful player in its own right.
3 – Ether Needs To Become More Readily AvailableThe amount of members of the general public that frequent cryptocurrency coin exchanges for any meaningful amount of time is woefully lacking, with far more members of the same group having no idea what a coin exchange is at all.
The same rings true for the number of these people that actively know and want blockchain technology in their products. The real solution to this? Don't make the public glare at it, weave it into the product without anyone knowing.
Blockchain in general isn't something the average person needs to know about, Ether, by contrast, as a cryptocurrency should certainly gain as much exposure as possible. As a high-profile cryptocurrency, it should be advertised to the public and made as easy as possible to access, buy, sell and use.
Buterin believes we should be able to buy a prepaid card at any convenience store and that day is almost certainly coming. It's not an otherworldly desire to bridge that gap: whole cryptocurrencies have been established, from white paper to initial transactions, as a way to bridge this same gap that exists between cryptocurrencies and fiat.
Giving individuals the immediate accessibility and ease of buying cryptocurrency as withdrawing money from an ATM is a truly enviable position to be in, and it's one that would award Ethereum the crypto-crown if it were able to achieve this.
So what would it mean if Ethereum were to become immediately available in the same way as other currencies? It would become an international currency on its own merits, making it into an even more practical and functional crypto for multinational companies. Inevitably, they will have to accept fiat currencies, but the frictionless nature of an Ether payment could lead to discounts that tempt the public into mass adoption.
4 – Ethereum Needs Mass Adoption In And Out Of The Mainstream Cryptocurrency MarketWhen it comes to people and human behavior in general, we are very herd-like in our nature, as a result, this makes the concept of utilizing something as new and revolutionary as blockchain a tough sell.
During this stage of its development, it remains a hard sell, but once it's out there, working flawlessly, the people will flock to it. In this sense, it's where smart city initiatives, particularly those that come from areas like Estonia and Dubai that serve as the poster cities for the value of blockchain long-term. Along with these pioneers, Australia has now signed up with IBM to create blockchain services and the corporate world is catching up.
Blockchain, by and large, is gaining a significant amount of momentum, but the various protocols are currently attempting to scratch out their place in a number of markets. Out of these known names, Ethereum is perfectly positioned, but the crypto world is so new that it wouldn’t take much to tip the balance against it.
Cryptocurrency, from the standpoint of a market wholesale, needs to achieve critical mass in terms of user activity and mass adoption, that's a given fact. But Ethereum must do the same if it's to take the initiative against its rivals. It's incredible how improvements to UI/UX and a strong, well-planned PR campaign can potentially turn the tide in favor of Ethereum.
5 – Ethereum Needs A Buoyant Social NetworkSocial Media is a marketing tool, as many businesses will know, but the likes of Facebook, by becoming continually ostracised from the public in general, Facebook has relegated itself, as the calls for users to #DeleteFacebook become louder.
With this becoming the situation in an increasing scale, could the time be to jettison these centralized, untrustworthy platforms for pastures anew and decentralized? In this regard, a follow-up question is essential: is the time now for the likes of Minds, the blockchain-based social media platform, to take over?
We think it could be, and that would help take Ethereum to a whole new level. If the social network is built on Ethereum, it’s a pretty small step to promoting it to the masses.
While being established in 2015, Minds boasts a social media population of over 1 million, and while that is profoundly dwarfed by Facebook's diminishing 2 billion, Minds has some advantages that Facebook is in no position to offer. As well as pledging not to censor political views, Minds also wants to pay its users for their contribution.
While this token system is in its early stages, it means that users can only really use them to buy shares in the company, but they are there as a reward where their previously was no incentive for centralized social media. There, too, is a system of tipping other users, so with these aspects, Minds has all the potential to outmaneuver Facebook.
And what does Minds run on? Ethereum.
ConclusionsWhether its value ebbs or flows, Ethereum will continue to develop and evolve as the number of people and companies that use it increases. And as this growth continues, the number of businesses, multinational, big, and small will get to know it in a far closer manner. The blockchain will gain legitimacy, technical excellence, flexibility, and exposure. If Ethereum stays on its current course and incorporates these changes, it could be the horse to bet on.
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