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I think "smart contract" is a bad name for what it truly is - a program that runs on the blockchain. I tell programmers to think of smart contracts as programs.

I think "smart contract" is a bad name for what it truly is - a program that runs on the blockchain. I tell programmers to think of smart contracts as programs. An Ethereum smart contract (program) may be useful when applied to a problem currently solved with a legal contract. But not necessarily. MakerDAO[0] is a project that achieves a token (Dai) that is termed a "stablecoin" as its value is soft pegged to $1 USD. It was launched in late December and has been very successful thus far. Maker achieves this with a series of smart contracts and operates entirely within the blockchain. MakerDAO is the type of project that is unique to smart contracts and is not possible without Ethereum or similar technology. These are the types of projects you should consider when analyzing the longterm technological capabilities of Ethereum. Imagining a world where paper contracts are replaced with Ethereum smart contracts is a misconception. [0] https://makerdao.com/ https://makerdao.com/

twblalock 9y ago
It's ironic that a crypto project seeking stability decides to peg its valuation against a fiat currency, i.e. the US dollar.
- profalseidol 9y ago
  As always, you'll have to read into the details. MakerDAO doesn't exactly peg it's value to the US dollar. Here's a good interview about how it works - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZggkzPJ5Yt4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZggkzPJ5Yt4
ForHackernews 9y ago
So...you can have a program that runs on an extremely slow computer and costs a ton of electricity to execute?
- seibelj 9y ago
  1) Proof of Stake will end the argument about electricity[0] 2) To criticize Ethereum as "an extremely slow computer" is the laziest, no-effort, no-thought attack you can make [0] https://github.com/ethereum/wiki/wiki/Proof-of-Stake-FAQ https://github.com/ethereum/wiki/wiki/Proof-of-Stake-FAQ
  - rspeer 9y ago
    Ethereum simply promising to switch to PoS, at some undefined future time when it's extremely convenient for them, provides absolutely no moral redemption. They have to actually do it.
    - DennisP 9y ago
      They have a testnet, are working on a second testnet, will freeze the spec once that testnet is running, and have funded multiple teams to formally verify the design's properties. That effort is going well and should be finished within four months. This is just for the initial hybrid design, but last I saw, that design reduces PoW reward by 80%, which necessarily decreases energy consumption by about the same amount. Recently I saw Vitalik claim that the finality provided in the hybrid design is the hard part, and going the rest of the way to full PoS is relatively easy.
    - profalseidol 9y ago
      Wow, lots of hidden assumptions there. You seem to imply that they're not working on it at all. Remember, Ethereum is clearly still under development, they never mention that it is ready for general public use.
  - lightedman 9y ago
    "To criticize Ethereum as "an extremely slow computer" is the laziest, no-effort, no-thought attack you can make" Sorry that the truth hurts. We've been doing this exact same thing since the late 70s and nothing has changed, at all. It's slow, its hugely wasteful, half of these 'contracts' I could execute on my phone faster than I could on the 'network.' And as shown, lots of room for basic-level stupidity to happen like lost Ether.
    - seibelj 9y ago
      The speed is not what makes Ethereum unique and useful. The global consensus of what happened on that computer is what is useful.

twblalock 9y ago

It's ironic that a crypto project seeking stability decides to peg its valuation against a fiat currency, i.e. the US dollar.

profalseidol 9y ago
As always, you'll have to read into the details. MakerDAO doesn't exactly peg it's value to the US dollar. Here's a good interview about how it works - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZggkzPJ5Yt4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZggkzPJ5Yt4

ForHackernews 9y ago

So...you can have a program that runs on an extremely slow computer and costs a ton of electricity to execute?

seibelj 9y ago
1) Proof of Stake will end the argument about electricity[0] 2) To criticize Ethereum as "an extremely slow computer" is the laziest, no-effort, no-thought attack you can make [0] https://github.com/ethereum/wiki/wiki/Proof-of-Stake-FAQ https://github.com/ethereum/wiki/wiki/Proof-of-Stake-FAQ
- rspeer 9y ago
  Ethereum simply promising to switch to PoS, at some undefined future time when it's extremely convenient for them, provides absolutely no moral redemption. They have to actually do it.
  - DennisP 9y ago
    They have a testnet, are working on a second testnet, will freeze the spec once that testnet is running, and have funded multiple teams to formally verify the design's properties. That effort is going well and should be finished within four months. This is just for the initial hybrid design, but last I saw, that design reduces PoW reward by 80%, which necessarily decreases energy consumption by about the same amount. Recently I saw Vitalik claim that the finality provided in the hybrid design is the hard part, and going the rest of the way to full PoS is relatively easy.
  - profalseidol 9y ago
    Wow, lots of hidden assumptions there. You seem to imply that they're not working on it at all. Remember, Ethereum is clearly still under development, they never mention that it is ready for general public use.
- lightedman 9y ago
  "To criticize Ethereum as "an extremely slow computer" is the laziest, no-effort, no-thought attack you can make" Sorry that the truth hurts. We've been doing this exact same thing since the late 70s and nothing has changed, at all. It's slow, its hugely wasteful, half of these 'contracts' I could execute on my phone faster than I could on the 'network.' And as shown, lots of room for basic-level stupidity to happen like lost Ether.
  - seibelj 9y ago
    The speed is not what makes Ethereum unique and useful. The global consensus of what happened on that computer is what is useful.