The plan was years in the making and has undergone a seemingly endless series of tests and tinkering. It finally happened after being one of the most anticipated and talked-about events in the crypto world this year. But now the event has passed, with ETH/USD trading around $4,000 at present.
But what is next for this project and how will it look to the future? Here’s everything we know so far about our latest big move.
This Week In Bitcoin News
The top news from Ethereum week for January 15th — 21st was that Matic, a new protocol by former Coinbase executive David Marcus, had been added as an official partner and COO on its launch. As many expected, Matic is known to have a very clear and straightforward approach to design and development. So much so that he’s already managed to make a few significant changes to his codebase which have led to some really impressive results. Matic also recently released its initial public offering (IPO) and attracted over 50% more than the amount raised by rivals such as Polkadot which took place earlier this year, a testament to Matic’s quality.
Among all these developments, there is also that of another Ethereum competitor called Polkadot, one that looks to replace EIP20 and currently sits around US$0.04 with over 10.5 million tokens. However, while others focus on building out their platforms and improving upon them, Polkadot seems to be focusing on expanding its governance structure and developing ways to further monetize its token ecosystem. This makes sense given that it plans to use part of its platform to develop decentralized exchanges and other services, but with the addition of Matic as a sponsor, Polkadot becomes the second major contender of the current Ethereum space.
Ethereum vs. Decentralized Finance
One thing that makes up both systems is the fact that they are built using different protocols. Of course, for example, ETH has created several tokens which can be used in exchange for traditional currencies, commodities, or other tokens. On the contrary to this, DFCO tokens come pre-installed and can be traded anywhere in the network, creating a bigger opportunity for users. Although not directly related to trading, DFCO tokens can still be exchanged for real cryptocurrency and vice versa. Despite this advantage, each system has its unique features for particular applications. For instance, ETH has made several blockchain-based innovations including “gas stations, wallet transfers, smart contracts, dApps, etc”. All of those could easily become available on DFCO tokens. The same goes for Polkadot and the various opportunities and services it offers for DTCs. They only really need to implement the necessary functions on a small scale before entering the larger market of full DFSs’ support. Meanwhile, EOS have seen quite good traction from developers using the EVM platform. With over 500 million wallets with active accounts, EOS are going nowhere if not soon. Given that EVM is extremely powerful, the chances of getting to a broader audience are almost nothing since the main advantage you already have is its reputation.
Ethereum vs. Centralized Platforms
Centralization is arguably easier to understand when compared to decentralization due to the common denominator of a company, but this is also true when considering the two types of technology. Due to large network effects on multiple fronts, centralized networks tend to do well under such circumstances. When thinking of decentralized teams and businesses, this often comes off as negative since the incentives seem to be lower. However, the advantages of having fewer owners can outweigh the disadvantages in certain markets as long as it is done properly. If decentralized teams are trusted, then this gives them the possibility to receive higher rewards and even access more resources.
One such area where decentralized teams feel better than centralized ones is in the way that business models can be designed. Considering the popularity of games, a great deal of money can be invested into establishing a brand and community. A solid digital currency infrastructure and management company would allow a gamer to keep playing until it pays back the game’s debt with interest, the right business model for anyone who wants to play the role of heroes. Another problem that centralized companies may face is scalability. While decentralized teams tend to have less technical dependencies and resources required than centralized ones, central customers can benefit greatly from such tools. Especially when trying to build any type of software, centralized servers are always faster and cheaper but require huge maintenance costs in comparison to decentralized ones. So as long as decentralized companies are able to avoid losing functionality to centralized solutions, it should take less time for them to gain market share.
There are always pros and cons to every industry and blockchain tech is no exception. We believe that the blockchain industry is ready to go head-to-head with the likes of Amazon and Apple and should create a lot more value within it’s ecosystem. By integrating the benefits of centralized and decentralized solutions in different areas of crypto, we hope to see massive growth in the field of finance at the end of 2021 and beyond.
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