Coinbase Co-founder: Ethereum Is the Forefront of Digital Currency
This article is FUD, but then so is this post. People on both sides have huge incentives. And don&#x27;t be deluded into thinking there aren&#x27;t sides. The wealth at stake and the ability to dodge banks makes it impossible to be deeply invested in this and not have an agenda.<p>Here are the paragraphs where I thought the FUD was most obvious. Worth looking over.<p><i>Developer mindshare is the most important thing to have in digital currency. The only reason these networks (Bitcoin, Ethereum) and their tokens (bitcoin, ether) have value is because there is a future expectation that people will want to acquire those tokens to use the network. And developers create the applications which drive that demand. Without a reason to use the network, both the network and its currency are worth nothing.</i><p><i>In contrast, Bitcoin has had a leadership vacuum since Gavin Andresen stepped aside after other core developers did not get on board with his (in my opinion rational and convincing) arguments to increase the block size. “Core developers” as they now stand are also relatively fragmented.</i><p><i>Beyond a leadership vacuum, Bitcoin’s “leadership” is less clear and toxic. Greg Maxwell, technical leader of Blockstream which employs a solid chunk of core developers, recently referred to other core developers who were working with miners on a block size compromise as “well meaning dips</i><i></i>s.” A second discussion board needed to form on reddit, &#x2F;r&#x2F;btc, because of censorship on the original &#x2F;r&#x2F;bitcoin. The content on the Bitcoin discussion boards feels like squabbling while Ethereum’s is talking about relevant issues and new ideas. In summary, Ethereum leadership (and as a result its community) is moving forward while things need to get worse before they can get better in Bitcoin.*<p><i>What is very real, though, is the possibility that Ethereum blows past Bitcoin entirely. There is nothing that Bitcoin can do which Ethereum can’t. While Ethereum is less battle tested, it is moving faster, has better leadership, and has more developer mindshare. Developers → apps → users → network success. First mover advantage is challenging to overcome, but at current pace, it’s conceivable.</i><p>Also, I still don&#x27;t understand why I&#x27;d want a programming language in my currency.