Bitcoin and Ethereum, sitting in a tree, k-i-s-s-i-n-g! As the old schoolyard rhyme goes.
The two cryptocurrencies, one launched seven years by a pseudonymous Satoshi Nakamoto, the other launched exactly one year ago, may not appear to be lovers at first glance. As I write this from San Francisco, where I’m giving a presentation to the Ethereum developers later this morning, the fog hasn’t yet burnt off, but the city is already bustling.
What an amazing city – the last time I was here to meet up with my Bitcoin and cryptocurrency friends, I was 20 pounds lighter and gaunt. I’d shut down my popular podcast on iTunes after some sponsors withdrew; the price of Bitcoin was less than a third of what it is today and Ethereum wasn’t even alive yet. A media friend had told me cryptocurrency was “as dead as Kennedy,” and that I should move on.
It wasn’t dead then. And it’s certainly not dead today.
BITCOIN AND ETHEREUM: FRENEMIES, BUT EVENTUALLY FRIENDS
Some Bitcoin users and investors have been unfriendly toward the Ethereum community, that goes without saying.
The launch of Ethereum “Classic” continues to cause problems for the Ethereum community. As the founder of prediction market Gnosis tweeted out:
The more research I do, I basically agree with this. You have a right to fork a coin or to support the pre-forked chain, any time, but if I were someone consulting for a central bank that wanted to remain in business for another 10 to 20 years as the predominant issuer of monetary tokens, I’d just constantly foment fake movements to split blockchains at every opportunity… before you know it, community morale is non-existent, fungibility and market value crater, it’s challenging to withdraw or deposit on an exchange or pay a merchant without the possibility of lost funds […]
