Photo by Alexandru Zdrobău on Unsplash
I always wonder why people are so sceptical about new technologies.
Technology doesn’t care about how we feel.
It’s swallowing us up, and you’re either an optimist prepared to capitalise on whatever opportunity it can create for you or a pessimist. The type of pessimist who thinks TikTok is for kids and AI is cheating.
It’s not out-and-out negativity but more a resistance to the new “thing” based on how things were yesterday.
Even people who invest in Bitcoin deny that other cryptocurrencies are worth researching. It’s a tad ironic, considering an entire group of people think Bitcoin is a giant Ponzi.
I love Bitcoin, but I’m nowhere near that level of tribalism. It’s an investment, not a religion.
Talking of investments, do you ever hear those stories of how people got into something early, at the ground level, and made absurd amounts of cash?
These stories would be too familiar if you invested in Bitcoin or Ethereum when they were in their infancy.
Like any new technology, it goes through something called an S curve. We’ve had the first spike of the S ready for what could be a substantial rebound over the next decade.
An S curve is a way to describe how a technology develops over time.
It starts with a slow introduction phase where only a few people know about or use it. As more and more people learn about it and start using it, it enters a rapid growth phase.
Something like this chart below.
I’d say we’re currently in the trough of disillusionment.
While in this down market, the naysayers are hovering about saying, “I told you so”, “Giant f****** Ponzi.”
And with 90% of crypto coins launched, they’d be correct. The percentage may be even higher.
Ethereum is different, it’s the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalisation and has been around for over seven years, and it’s still flying under the radar.
Getting into something earlier than the stampede requires a massive set of kahunas, maybe even blind faith and a lot of data.
Let’s dive into it.
Environmental Excuses Are Over
You’ve probably heard that cryptocurrency is terrible for the environment, which is true of those that use a process called “Proof-of-Work”, which can be energy-intensive.
Bitcoin is one of them, I like Bitcoin, and I write about it a lot, but there’s an energy consumption hurdle that BTC faces, and we have to accept that more and more people are taking a powerful stance in tackling the climate crisis.
Ethereum is different.
It’s more energy-efficient than popular online platforms like YouTube and Netflix after Eth changed to become even more energy-efficient. They moved to a process called “Proof-of-stake”, which makes the network use 99.5% less energy than before.
This change was great news for environmentalists worried about the impact of Ethereum on the environment.
So the next time you hear that all cryptocurrency is terrible for the environment, remember that Ethereum uses the same amount of energy to power your laptop for 20 minutes, which is negligible.
Here are the comparisons with other technologies. I’ve shared this chart before, but it highlights the monumental difference in energy usage.
Ethereum’s Network Effects Are Unmatched.
Ethereum has the potential to be the investment you tell your grandkids.
One reason is network effects, which happen when a product or service becomes more valuable as more people use it.
It’s what makes Ethereum so powerful.
As more people and businesses start using Ethereum and building on top of the Ethereum network, the demand for the Ethereum token (ETH) will increase and cause the price of ETH to go up.
It’s impossible to predict exactly how high it could go. But with the growing use of the Ethereum network, the potential for the price of ETH to reach significant heights is high, mainly through the demand for NFTs, Decentralised Finance and Decentralised applications.
The way you gauge what might happen in the future is to see where people are dedicating their lives to improving this technology.
How many developers are there, and how do the numbers compare to other blockchains?
Here’s the data of monthly active developers on each blockchain as of 2022
- Ethereum has around — 4000 monthly.
- Solana has around — 1000 monthly.
- Bitcoin has around — 500 monthly.
Final Thoughts.
The developer chart tells you all you need to know.
Technology improves through dedicated work hours and skill application, and just by sheer numbers, these incredible people are building the most on Ethereum.
While no one can predict the future, we can use the past to measure what we expect to happen.
The percentage of global money in the form of decentralised digital assets, such as cryptocurrencies, is estimated to be 0.5%.
In the next decade, this percentage may either increase or decrease. Factors that may cause it to fall could be stricter government regulations and control.
On the other hand, things that may cause it to increase are the growing trend of people becoming more comfortable with digital technology and increasingly using it in their daily lives.
Ethereum’s use cases, the recent environmental hurdle it overcame, and its potential network effects give it a great chance of increasing the global digital asset space alongside Bitcoin.
Maybe even surpassing it.
This article is for informational purposes only; it should not be considered financial, tax or legal advice. You can consult a financial professional before making any significant financial decisions.
This article is for informational purposes only; it should not be considered financial, tax or legal advice. You can consult a financial professional before making any significant financial decisions.