A classic Bitcoin and Ethereum article, and how it inspires us at Publica
Vinay Gupta’s non-technical primer on the technology and social implications of Bitcoin and Ethereum is a classic. I re-read it occasionally for inspiration.
While you read the article, think about the fact that Ethereum blockchain miners have to get paid for their computers and work — in Ether. Publica has to put READ and RIGHTS tokens in Ethereum smart contracts, and we’ll pay the Ether. But much of the distributed computing that READ and RIGHTS tokens imply doesn’t have to cost Ether all-day and every-day. This author said he’s looking forward to these kinds of innovations.
Ether’s price in other currencies will rise and rise, occasionally slump, then rise and rise again, eventually making Ethereum cost more to use in a global fast-transacting industry like publishing. A rising utility expense can be a problem for the publishing economy because book projects take a long time. Ebooks last for a very, very long time. Remember the always-rising price of paper?
By using Pebble tokens as the currency inside the Publica platform’s automated systems, and READ and RIGHTS tokens as digital keys in Ethereum smart contracts, other blockchain innovators can help us and Ethereum serve the publishing ecosystem better, for its own needs and peculiarities, while keeping the best parts of what blockchains have to offer.
We’re looking forward to it!
Vinay Gupta’s article at Consensys.net https://media.consensys.net/programmable-blockchains-in-context-ethereum-s-future-cd8451eb421e
