$10 million Fund set up for IOTA Ecosystem
Belief, and an Ecosystem built around that belief,
is what actually changes the world.
We all love Bitcoin
No matter what happens in the future,
no matter how advanced technology becomes,
no matter how many crypto currencies come onto the scene,
Bitcoin will always be the grandmother of the crypto world.
Bitcoin gave birth to the vision we now all share.
What has made this vision become a reality is two vital factors.
The first is invisible to the eye and is impossible to prove.
The second is vital and all too real.
Of the first I am talking about "belief" of course.
Early adopters of Bitcoin did not "buy-in" to Bitcoin because they thought it would make them into millionaires.
No, they saw it showed a different way and "believed" in that new way.
Today, it is somewhat easy for us to to "believe" in Bitcoin and the Blockchain revolution when we see the value of Bitcoin soar in price.
However, try, just for a moment, to imagine yourself in the shoes of the early Bitcoin "believers".
The words "gigantic leap" spring to mind.
It was such people like Roger Ver, who inspired me, as well as millions of others, to become involved in the Bitcoin movement. His passionate belief in Bitcoin moved me too became part of the blockchain vision, albeit in a lesser way. When I first saw this one minute long clip of @rogerver speaking of his intense belief in Bitcoin, I felt the hairs on the back of my neck raise and my body become cold. (below)
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This neatly brings me to the second factor that made the Bitcoin vision become a reality.
The Bitcoin Ecosystem
Once again Roger Ver has to be given mention in playing a gigantic role. However, the purpose of this post was not to praise those who deserve praise, (another post perhaps) but highlight the how and the why we are all here.
Without an ecosystem, Bitcoin would be worthless.
Without a way to exchange Bitcoin into dollars (or other fiat currency) or in exchange for daily life goods,
no one would have used it in the first place.
And now the ecosystem is becoming so large that it is getting ever closer to the reality that Bitcoin can be used as a currency. Recently a house was sold using Bitcoin, several top galleries in London are now accepting Bitcoin as payment and Bitcoin vending machines are springing up all over the world.
Yet there has always been two main threats to Bitcoin´s dominance.
Transaction speeds and transaction fees.
Something developers recognised and has led to the birth of numerous other crypto tokens offering alternatives.
Including the mighty Steem token for 
The "weakness" of Bitcoin´s slow transaction speeds was so great that it led to the now famous Bitcoin fork which is why we now have Bitcoin Cash. And now we see another fork on the horizon ?
Transaction fees was perhaps one of the problems the infamous Satoshi Nakomoto did not foresee. Anyone who had the genius to create Bitcoin perhaps had far higher moral standard than that of the greedy Bitcoin miner of his invention. I am certain Mr Nakomoto´s intention was to increase prosperity to the many and not only for the few. After all, that is the system we have already and what led to the 2008 financial crash which is what motivated Nakomoto in the first place. As I understand it at least.
Perhaps he underestimated just how much greed plays a role whenever the concept of money is involved. Thus transaction fees are rising and will continue to rise. It is inevitable.
Think about it? Once all the Bitcoins have been mined, what will be the incentive for miners to keep the block chain going? They will have no choice but to increase transactions fees. When that happens we will be back to square one. With only the rich being able to afford to use Bitcoin.
Unfortunately there is no escape from transaction fees.
All blockchain based crytpocurrencies will have to charge some of fee in order to pay for the "upkeep" of the blockchain that it is based on.
Enter IOTA
IOTA is the only crypto token that has ZERO transactions fees and it will always have ZERO transaction fees.
The reason being that IOTA does not use a blockchain technology at all and therefore does not need miners to "verify and pass along" transactions. How this is achieved is by using entirely new technology called the "Tangle" and can be explained in another post. However, in short, it is the user who "verifies and thus mines" the token. A rather genius idea that could change everything.
But, no matter how good a new alternative to Bitcoin comes along into the crypto world, it can never have a significant affect on fiat banking or even be viable, unless it has an ecosystem that can interact in the "real" world.
The ever growing highly qualified team behind IOTA have obviously realised this and responded positively by setting up a fund to help IOTA do exactly this. Develop an ecosystem based around the future token. Enter the IOTA Ecosystem fund.
No less than Ten Million dollars $10,000,000 - has been added to a fund that is open to anyone, not only developers, to apply for funding to aid in the growth of the IOTA ecosystem.
This shows just how much the IOTA team believe in its future.
Considering that Bitcoin had no such fund to help it grow to mass adoption it had to reply on the belief in it.
This means that IOTA is in the very opposite position to that of that Bitcoin was at its beginnings.
Bitcoin did not have funding but the BELIEF. While IOTA has the funding but does not have the belief.
Or at least the "belief in it " is just beginning.
It will be interesting to be part of and watch to see if this belief grows to the size of that of Bitcoin.
Whatever the case the lesson of Bitcoin must be been learned and learned well.
Money and greed will have to play a role if it is to appeal to the investor and wider public.
Sadly, for me, this reveals a truth about human beings.
But it is a truth we all know but do not like to speak of and yet one we must accept.
However, since this blog has, in part, featured the concept of belief, I will tell that it is my belief that, even though it appears we (human-beings) are driven by greed, it is only because we have created, and are living in, a greed driven society. Most of us have not been part of the building of this greed society but I am certain that many of us have fallen foul to the corruption that inevitable grows and thrives from it.
Therefore, if the belief, of Satoshi Nakomoto, of a brighter future, based upon a more equal wealth distribution ecosystem is achieved, then I believe that we (human-beings) could very well rise above our primal greed instincts.
For the need for greed will no longer dominate our thoughts.
What I write is merely my own thoughts from my own life experience.
If you like what I post you are welcome to follow me so you can read more.
You could also give me a friendly upvote to help motivate me.
It only costs a click. And don't forget, every time you vote, part of the money goes back to you.
Its a win win situation.
A warm welcome back in advance.
This IOTA sounds better and better
Aren't fees an important part of any payment network? Without fees, anyone can clog the network with bogus transactions, no? How does IOTA protect its own network from malicious actors?
Good questions : )
I will explain better in a future post about how IOTA works, but in short, the users verify the transactions themselves thus cutting out the middle man (the miners) using a new method called "the Tangle".
With regards to malicious actors, the transaction is verified by three users and if one is deemed false then the transaction is refused. Tangle technology is also quantum resistant, thus it can not be hacked even by future quantum computers
Have a deeper look into the way IOTA works, every user essentially becomes part of the tangle network.
Today I'm feeling anger for you on people. People don't promote the real TALENT. Your blog deserves at-least 200+ upvotes and $150+. But unfortunately people do upvotes on artificial Stuff instead of Genuine. @arthuradamson you're my inspiration and I will be the last person who supports you in the world even if there is only one person. Stay Blessed!
I appreciate your concern my good man. It can be frustrating and sometimes disheartening but I will not allow it to upset me. I will continue to post for as long as it gives me joy. If that changes then I will try something else. You are a true human being my good fellow. It is rare to see such integrity these days.
Stay blessed to you too : )
Welcome my friend any time.
Shame that a great post like this doesn't get proper attention. And I'm not talking about rewards, I'm talking about the upvotes and upvotes/views ratio
Thanks for saying that @dumar022
I suppose we are all in the same boat when it comes to exposure and upvotes here on Steemit.
Some get seen a lot while others do not and I have no idea how that works.
I like to blog and I like to share information and a least on here I get a couple of bucks for my efforts whereas I would get nothing if I posted on Facebook.
I seem to have a lot of followers but I never get not a lot of upvotes and this puzzles me. Occasionally it can be somewhat disheartening too.
When I started on Steemit back in December 2016, I was very active during the winter months. However, in the summer I run my own gallery which means I do not have time to blog. The summer is when I must work hard to sell my work or I dont have an income. Anyways, when I returned to steemit to continue my joy of blogging, I noticed that those who regularly upvoted me had now abandoned me. This was rather disappointing I am not sure why this happened but there is nothing I can do about it.
All I can do is carry on and focus on keeping my own standards high and hope my posts are well received.
One thing I did notice though was that- while I had been away, "some" of those whom I followed and followed me, had increased their account level dramatically - with reputation and steem power. Perhaps they now considered me no longer on their level anymore? As I say I do not know.
It is a mystery.
On the positive side, I do seem to be making newer contacts and connections with newer steemit members. The experience has taught me a lesson and so these days I try to form better, more honest relationships with followers and those whom I follow. I intentionally look for people who seem original, refreshing and in particular, genuine. A category I place you among @dumar022
I try my best to vote on their posts whenever I see them and I always read them. I have considered using a bot but then I what is the point? I might vote on something I am actually against and then I will be too lazy to even look at their post. I guess I could make more money by using a bot but then if making money was what motivated me I should rather be working in banking : )
I guess I will keep blogging so long as it gives me joy and I keep meeting genuine folk on steemit. If that changes then I guess I would just stop and do something else.
Always good to hear from you my good fellow : )
Another post on IOTA? Where's that vote-hammer? :D
Very well worded , once again a pleasure to read. Roger Ver's video made me shiver too.
The centralization of mining power, the large mining pools, bitmain & co indeed display the negative sides of human nature involved even in something as well motivated as Bitcoin. The bitcoin politics and disagreements in the Dev team have reached unsettling levels, especially during this pre-Segwit2x phase. The Tangle seems like the natural paradigm shift in blockchain technology towards the true vision of a free crypto-economic world. I is unacknowledged by the many, yet it has the potential to disrupt the whole industry.
I suppose the secret is out by now that I am a big fan of IOTA lol
It is a long way off from having any affect but I admit I love the idea of all of us controlling the transactions ourselves rather than relying on a third party such as miners.
Roger Ver commented on blog I wrote once, I felt honoured.
That is very inspiring!
The miners have become almost mafia like in their power struggles with BTC. This can become the downfall of BTC long term if it's not sorted out. The idea of a decentralized verification system, no fees, and increased speed is something that every coin should be trying to achieve for long term success. Your last post spurred my first small investment into IOTA and will be doing more.
Been considering options on how to integrate crypto payments into a couple of my businesses and not happy with the way most of the options out there work (fees, risk during the lag of transfer, ext.). Maybe with this fund someone will create a fast ultra low fee payment processing option for online based businesses. If you can work with the ease Paypal with lower fees while giving the receiving party the option to instantly convert to Fiat Currency removing risk of market changes any coin could become a real contender.
The key is the world is accustomed to instant, really simple transactions. Once that can be achieved what digital bytes that are used people don't really care about...they just want things to be easy. Most people carry little to no cash anyways, so Fiat or Crypto really means little so the potential is there.
It will be no surprise to you that I totally agree lol
This is a really good point that I think many of those who are deep in the crytpo world do not get as yet. Instant transactions are the key to mass adoption. When I started in crypto it was almost like an exclusive club for developers and they almost did not want ordinary folk involved. I actually joined the MAIDSAFE network early on and on my first post I got flagged. The post was praising the Maidesafe idea but apparently I had used the wrong tag and some administrator flagged me. I was furious. I mean what a great start.
Later, the guy who actually built the network, David Irvine, contacted me and apologised telling my that my post was "inspirational". However it was too late and I never went back. I joined steemit instead.
Sorry got diverted there.
Just a point, I hope you are not in the US because I heard Bitfinex is closing to US citizens so if they have IOTA on there then they must get them off by Nov 07. I have been advising to move them to Binance instead.
US which makes this all the harder for me on the adaption side of things due to things like closures, not having early access to ICO's, and so forth. Have seriously debated just opening an account overseas to move money between to avoid these issues, but that just opens up a new set of issues that I personally can't be dealing with due to some of my licenses.
So frustrating for you it must be considering the US stands for the idea of capitalist ideals and free markets. Things I feel will change as the crypto markets become more acceptable and the US realises that it will miss the boat.
Do what you must my friend
US claims to stand for those things and at one time probably did. In reality this government has done more to create a massive class divide in the last 20 years then in span of history. Our position in the world is crumbling and we have had a string of weak leaders who all serve those that have bought and paid for their souls..."special interest groups" ie the filthy rich control everything and their greed has no end.
And no question early adaptors were not open to the idea of outsiders joining their little boys club.
Bingo!
IOTA hasn't even begun yet.
The next 5 or so year are going to be an interesting ride, especially as institutional investors pour into the crypto space. 2018/19 will likely see a trillion+ market cap. IOTA will grow like crazy.
Totally agree. It is like the early days of Bitcoin. People have not seen the light yet. I think it will take off quicker than Bitcoin did because it has less hurdles to jump - I reckon in the next two years we will see it boom.
Go ahead....
Thank you @arthuradamson for making us reflect once again on human nature. When you write about a greed-driven society my thoughts go in the direction of thinking that greed is linked to the scarcity of resources. If it's so, eliminating this scarcity eliminates greed but is this making us better beings? I mean, If i'm not being evil just because I am not given the chance to commit a crime that doesn't make me a good person, does it? Another thought: are we greedy because of the unequal superstructure in which we live, or else is this society unequal because our nature of natural predators made it as it is?
A very thoughtful response my good fellow. I see that you are a rather deep going personality and one who perhaps has experienced a sour taste of disappointment in life.
There will always be those who will be tempted to harm others in various ways and indeed I would call such people, predators. Those who are among the 3% known as psychopathic individuals . However, the rest of the human race are not of such a demeanor. Yes they have weaknesses and may yet still make mistakes and faults, but on the whole, in a more honest and fair environment, "normal" human beings generally behave well to each other.
I think the aim is to try to at least reduce the percentage level of crime or evil so that the balance is more in favour of the good. Surely that is the best we can do. At the moment, the balance is in favour of the greed and corrupt. And as we know, corruption is like a pathogenic bacteria and can spread easily if the environment is filthy. We must first set to the task of cleaning up the environment in order for goodness to flourish once again.
I believe that blockchain technology will help in doing this. It will hinder corruption and keep the predators away from positions of power.
Thank you for the excellent reply @f3nix : )
You are a bright and inspiring person Arthur and I followed you. Yes probably I lived some sour experiences, as we all did in a way or another, but I consider myself lucky in comparison to many people in this world. I think indirectly I gave another point of view/reply to your article through the one I just posted now, I'd like your opinion if you want :-) See you here around!
Thank you my good fellow : )
I will surely check out your post and give a comment.
Thank you for this thema.