http://xoxohth.com/thread.php?thread_id=3392776&mc=13&forum_id=2

I think of Bitcoin as essentially a novel medium of exchange. Bitcoin excels for this purpose.

Ethereum is more than a medium of exchange. When others describe Ethereum they often mention "smart contracts", "decentralized applications", or a "world computer".

The concept behind Ethereum is abstruse and abstract. You know how "the internet" is a decentralized communication platform? DARPA -- or whoever -- created the internet in such a way that if significant portions of the network were destroyed communication between two edges of the network could still persist. This sounds incredibly dry and banal. I mean, who really gives a fuck about reliably sending morse code signals between London and Tokyo -- but this fundamental technology resulted in miraculous developments. I think of Ethereum much the same way.

And much like the internet, the initial applications of the technology are easiest to explain through the vehicles of gambling and pornography. Imagine an online casino written in code that could be scrutinized by the public (i.e., verifiably fair). Furthermore, this code would not be run by any single computer but rather by the network itself. So a terrorist would not be able to blow up the casino. The code for the casino exists across the entire network and automatically pays out when certain conditions are met. Or imagine live streaming pornography where the viewers automatically pay 1/100ths of a penny every second.

Currently there are no practical uses for Ethereum -- the technology itself is still being developed. One of the more interesting projects in development is Augur ( https://www.augur.net ), a decentralized prediction market.

Ethereum is still in its infancy. What’s remarkable is that Ethereum has a billion-dollar market cap. The technology is both difficult to understand and discover. Where does all the money come from?

See also:

How the Blockchain Could Change Corporate Structure

http://www.wsj.com/articles/how-the-blockchain-could-change-corporate-structure-1476887998

Andreessen Horowitz

http://a16z.com/2016/08/28/ethereum/

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3395675&forum_id=2#31704311)

I suspect the technology itself will gain maturity over the next year and we will begin to see practical applications gain traction in around two years. I'm invested in the technology as a speculative play. Either Ethereum will lose all its value in two years or it will appreciate by a multiple.

I'm interested in the technology as an investor.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3395675&forum_id=2#31704409)

Like in a year what will $500 each of BTC and ETH be worth

What about Monero, AMP, ripple

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3395675&forum_id=2#31704505)

I don't know much about Synereo AMP.

Ripple may be worth looking into more, but it doesn't strike me as that interesting. I've heard rumors about inflation. And I would expect Ethereum to grow at a much more rapid rate.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3395675&forum_id=2#31704532)

And big names are either invested or paying attention to it.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3395675&forum_id=2#31704559)

You can't do anything with it. You can barely even buy Ether. A sophisticated attacker has launched multiple denial of service attacks against the platform. This has resulted in two "hard forks", or fundamental changes in the platform. One of the hard forks is yet to come. Not only is this attacker brilliant at spotting flaws in the system, but they're funding the attack at a rate of $240+/hr.

So maybe, 6 months from now the system will work better. And then maybe a year from now you can actually do something with Ether.

Basically, it's a long bet on the 22 year old Russian genius behind the project.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3395675&forum_id=2#31704621)

The team behind the project seems capable and has successfully dealt with the challenges thus far. The only person of importance is Vitalik Buterin. If he were only motivated by money he could've cashed out by now. It's important that he seems to have a grander ideological vision. And he's probably too aspie to care about sex or material wealth.

Vitalik is a genius afterall -- or everyone prays. Who else really understands this stuff?

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3395675&forum_id=2#31704701)

Oct 22, 2016 12.18 12.19 11.95 12.07 7,583,820 1,037,850,000

https://coinmarketcap.com/currencies/ethereum/historical-data/?start=20130428&end=20180104

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3395675&forum_id=2#35080467)