The hype seems to have peaked for blockchains and cryptocurrencies, as evidenced by the slowdown of previous firehose-scale announcements in this area, and we expect some of the more speculative efforts to die out over time. One of the blockchains, Ethereum, while not universally popular among diehard blockchain aficionados, appears in increasing numbers in new initiatives. Ethereum is a public blockchain with a built-in programming language allowing developers to build "smart contracts", which are algorithmic movements of ether (the Ethereum cryptocurrency) in response to activity happening on the blockchain. R3CEV, the consortium building blockchain tech for banks, built its first proofs of concept on Ethereum. Ethereum has been used to build a distributed autonomous organization (DAO)—one of the first "algorithmic corporations"—although a recent heist of $150 million in the ether demonstrates that the blockchains and cryptocurrencies are still the Wild West of the technology world.
The hype seems to have peaked for blockchain and cryptocurrencies, as evidenced by the previous firehose-scale announcements in this area slowing to a trickle, and we expect some of the more speculative efforts to die out over time. One of the blockchains, Ethereum, is making good progress and is worth watching. Ethereum is a public blockchain with a built-in programming language that allows "smart contracts" to be built into it. These are algorithmic movements of "ether" (the Ethereum cryptocurrency) in response to activity happening on the blockchain. R3Cev, the consortium building blockchain tech for banks, built its first proofs of concept on Ethereum. Ethereum has been used to build a Distributed Autonomous Organization (DAO)—one of the first "algorithmic corporations"—although a recent heist of $150m worth of Ether demonstrates that the blockchain and cryptocurrencies are still the Wild West of the technology world.
