[pavlov]

Ethereum is still like a tech demo though.

Right now, Ethereum's promised "global supercomputer" is more like a 1960s IBM mainframe that you can access through wildly expensive dial-up links. What kind of world-changing networked software would you have built on that?

It doesn't seem to actually work for any applications other than escrow (ICOs) – and even that has a strong pyramidic sniff to it, because it's used to collect investments into Ethereum-based protocols that can't really result in functional applications on Ethereum unless it's radically redesigned.

Maybe they'll pull it off and Ethereum will be useful a few years from now. I'm not making any bets.

[icelancer]

Cryptocurrency represents billions of dollars of value exchanged every single day with the bits being the physical representation of money.

Ten years ago that kind of adoption would have been considered impossible.

Anything beyond that is moving the goalposts. I'm happy to be along for the ride rather than commenting about the "this is not the likely implementation of this technology" / "it's used for scams" / "it doesn't scale."

I am aware of all that and I agree with most of it. But the financial adoption of this technology is itself incredibly amazing, and something I think people overlook so they can make a technically-correct point about the tech in its infancy. Which is not to say you are doing it, but it's pretty close, especially since I didn't advocate for Ethereum as genius (it's pretty interesting, if you ask me; and smart contracts do a great job of exposing how stupid people are and how terrible of developers we are).

[pavlov]

I agree the financial adoption is fun to watch (from the sidelines, eating popcorn), and I think there will be interesting applications for smart contracts eventually.

However I'm not convinced that Ethereum's "jack of all trades" approach has long-term potential – it looks a lot like an initial vague research prototype that needs to be pared down to specific verticals before you have a product. (Exposing the stupidity of everyone who tries to use it for anything may not be the best way to build a long-term community?)

Personally I like to imagine Ethereum as a 1969 mainframe occupying a giant office floor, and then ask the question: ARPANET was just around the corner in 1969, so what would that change look like this time? In other words, what's the "TCP/IP" for Ethereum's "mainframe on dial-up"?

[knodi123]

> Cryptocurrency represents billions of dollars of value exchanged every single day

And a comparatively microscopic proportion of those billions are used to purchase goods or services.