The Future of the Tech Startup: Ethereum Explained to Everyday Investors
Cryptocurrencies aren’t complicated. At least they aren’t supposed to be. They have a lot of benefits and do a lot of things: They reduce fraud and simplify contracts. They provide security from theft and, most importantly they decentralize wealth and make businesses transparent.
However, at first, many people didn’t understand the “how” or the “why” of cryptocurrency. People would invest in Bitcoin, but there was nothing much they could use it for – apart from some purchases in online stores and at a cafe or two in San Francisco.
Now, the ease-of-use and investability of cryptocurrency seems to be increasing. This is because the Ethereum platform, first introduced in 2013, makes cryptocurrency customizable to the specific needs of specific businesses. Companies built using the Ethereum platform can create custom cryptocurrencies that facilitate business growth. These cryptocurrencies are useful because of the companies they are linked to – and usefulness brings value to an investment.
There are plenty of reasons for an average person to invest in one of these currencies. It’s important to remember – investing in a cryptocurrency on the Ethereum platform is much the same as investing in a company, and these are truly the next generation of tech companies we’re talking about, representing the next wave of tech innovation. Companies utilizing Ethereum blockchain technology will build the world of tomorrow.
We will look at one such company later on to illustrate how this all works in the case of one Ethereum currency called PlusCoin. But first, an explanation of Ethereum:
What is Ethereum technology?
The first thing that needs to be understood about Ethereum technology is that it brings the blockchain to businesses – to startups and to companies. The blockchain is nothing more than an online peer-to-peer (p2p) list of transactions. This list makes things visible to everyone. Any kind of contract, be it a sale, a purchase, or another kind of agreement, is instantaneously and securely carried out because visibility means verifiability.
The Ethereum platform represents, in the most simplified sense, a new way to program the blockchain so that it can be used by any kind of software, and therefore by any kind of company, selling any kind of product. Ethereum is versatile – it can do a lot of things – and it lets all types of companies do the sorts of things that make them money in a secure and transparent way.
Theoretically, any business could be made more transparent with integration into the Ethereum blockchain. For example, currently, Uber is a service where freelance drivers work to send money to a central office. This central office takes a large fee in order to make sure that the customer gets driven and the driver gets paid. If Uber integrated blockchain technology into their app using the Ethereum platform, a cryptocurrency (UberCoin!?) would be exchanged speedily and visibly. The process would be decentralized, costing the customer less money and paying the driver more. The central office would be made obsolete.
Uber isn’t likely to make this change but plenty of companies are. Let’s look at one great example of a startup currently integrating Ethereum technology:
Ethereum Technology in Action
DS Plus is an example of the kind of tech company that exists to change things for the better, and the guys behind it found the best way to do this was with the Ethereum platform. They realized that their marketing clients would benefit from blockchain technology since it allows for instantaneous and secure transactions. Enterprises, using their application. can offer promotions based on instant refunds – cashback. This kind of promotion increases revenues exponentially, and is only possible with blockchain technology.
As such, their team created a cryptocurrency, called PlusCoin, on the Ethereum platform, and made it function as a token on their mobile application. Pretty soon, their marketing platform will turn into a full-force marketplace, where goods and services can be purchased, completely bypassing fiat currency. This is just proof that any company with a mobile application can innovate in their own way with the Ethereum platform.
Cryptocurrency is the future of tech startups
It looks like more and more businesses and going to switch to the blockchain model, and surely more Ethereum-like platforms will be developed to facilitate this shift. One fairly accurate analysis would be, however, that cryptocurrencies on the Ethereum platform make for good investments because they guarantee revenue and innovation.