Blockchain Short Story 010: Long Live the King
It might be attributed to confirmation bias, but I find the reasoning provided by Paul Brody in “Ethereum for Business” compelling, regarding Ethereum’s potential to remain the leading platform.
Brody outlines his argument based on two pivotal principles that drive the technology market toward a dominant position:
- Metcalf’s law suggests that the value of a network increases exponentially with the number of its users.
- The negligible incremental cost of software.
Thus, the more value users can derive from the network and the greater the software component of your offering, the faster you can achieve and sustain market leadership.
This dynamic makes software and digital platforms particularly prone to domination by a single entity or product.
Blockchain technology, especially Ethereum, exemplifies this phenomenon. Its value comes exclusively from its user network, and it is wholly software-based, making Ethereum a prime candidate for becoming the preeminent blockchain ecosystem.
Repeatedly, we witness the introduction of new Layer 1 blockchain technologies that claim to be faster and superior. However, unless they provide substantial improvements in all relevant aspects, these advancements often fail to outweigh the value entrenched within the Ethereum ecosystem, comprising numerous applications, developers, and billions of dollars in capital. — Ethereum for Business
Supporting Brody’s argument is the behavior of pragmatic mainstream market adopters.
Pragmatists will hold off committing their support until they see a strong candidate for leadership emerge. Then they will back that candidate forcefully in an effort to squeeze out the other alternatives, therby bringing about the necessary standardization to ensure good whole product development in their marketplace. — Crossing the Chasm
