Populous – Full Steam on the Spur Line?
In the June 2017 report “Hunting Trains! Bare Naked Wealth #4” Clif referred to specific coin offerings as train engines. It is not the platform that the applications are running on but the applications that are running on the platform that will succeed.
In this report he gave an overview of several coin/tokens that turned up in his linguistic analysis and Populous was one of those which turned up and stood out. He said that Populous,
represents our next opportunity for a real train engine and not mere track laying – Clif High
This is a most apt analogy of the present state of the types of ICOs being offered with applications being built to run on the Ethereum blockchain and the up and coming NEO platform. Indeed bitcoin and Litecoin are also going to join the party soon to provide a platform in which to run applications.
Is Populous Just A Train Engine?
Clif’s analysis may be right a few months ago but the ecosystem has evolved to such a point that being a mere train engine does not have long enough legs?
Going through the # q-and-a channel in Populous’s Slack site gives me an insight into what Populous is thinking. When browsing the # q-and-a channel the other day I came across an interesting question that was asked by aucontraire which I think would pose an interesting scenario for Populous. Maybe not just for Populous but for all other businesses using the Ethereum blockchain.
What is very interesting is not the question asked but the reply given which to me is truly eye-opening.
Train Engine Cum Track Builder
The contingency plan by Populous indicates that it needs to be more than a train engine to succeed in the future. It is a contingency plan no doubt but to have a blockchain infrastructure developed just for this is maybe over doing it a bit, don’t you think?
Then why not include this contingency plan together with the planned future growth of Populous as both a train engine and track layer.
Does the old saying “build em’ and they will come” still apply. Maybe the building of a “Populous blockchain” will allow Populous to become the platform of choice for financial orientated new ICOs. Are these the trains that Clif is referring.
The Whole Shebang!
Populous has appeared in a couple of BNW reports by Clif to date but in the BNW#4 report he also stated that,
We will review this space frequently for new train engines being built – Clif High
It would appear that Clif is expecting many more train engines under Populous and I would somewhat agree with him on this point.
I postulated, in my previous post, that the XBRL token is not used just for the purchase of credit reports but the purchase of XBRL data. Therefore does the XBRL data also contain the other trains engines which Clif is referring? Since XBRL data is being used, you can bet that the upcoming trains are all of a financial nature!
Maybe the XBRL engine is the only train but pulling many Populous carriages. So far the carriages I see being pulled by the XBRL engine are the invoice factoring, credit rating assessment and possibly insurance in conjunction with Euler Hermes. What other carriages are going to be coupled to the XBRL train engine?
If you watch the Clif High / Steve Nico Williams interview again you will find that there is another carriage at the least being built. The interview is embedded near the end of this post.
It sure looks like Populous is not only building the train engine but it carriages and tracks to go with it!
Going All The Way!
To me, it looks increasing likely that Populous will build a dedicated spur line. This can’t be too hard to do because there are already so many alt-coins out there with their own dedicated blockchains.
Why do I think that Populous will follow through then read on to find out a bit more on my reasoning.
Making You Wait and Then Not Showing Up!
We all know that the Ethereum network slows down dramatically when there are popular ICOs going on. The SNT ICO caused the network to almost come to a screeching halt and even without ICOs the network appears to be having slower reaction times.
Transactions are shown pending then as failed after a long wait and all the while gas is being gobbled up in the process. Can you imagine the amount of ETH being wasted by people like me and you in these situations?
This does not only apply to ordinary people like us but to businesses using the Ethereum blockchain of which Populous will be no different once the beta go live. There is no distinction between the general public and businesses on the blockchain.
Less than 0.1% of the masses are even aware of cryptos and with adoption by businesses only just beginning. There would be chaos if there was a sudden rush to blockchain technology which could mean the end of this fledgling technology.
Losing Control is Costly!
One should always be in control of everything one does and take responsibility for it. As a startup, Populous has the opportunity to take control to minimise if not to mitigate risks that they may face going forward.
One of the key risk any company faces is the ability to controls ones’ own finances and these include above all else costs which directly affects the bottom line. Costs can be controlled if close attention is paid to monitoring costs and nipping potential costly over spends in the bud. The question asked by aucontraire is therefore very poignant!
Default gwei on Metamask used to be 4 gwei but in recent days this has been increased to 8 gwei. A doubling of cost to hopefully ensure that your transaction go through successfully on the Ethereum network. Will transaction costs on the Ethereum Network go the way of bitcoin where transaction cost is greater than the cost for buying a can of Coca-Cola?
These transaction cost can add up to a princely sum when hundreds and thousands of micro-transaction are made every day and because it is a network cost you are not in control of this cost. Although you can factor this into the cost of doing business, you are still dependent on others for the smooth operation of your business.
In Conclusion
Maybe my assumption is overblown because the Ethereum blockchain is being improved and improving by the day with scalability being addressed and Populous can bide its’ time for the whole thing to be resolved.
However, the proliferation of new ERC20 ICOs based on the Ethereum blockchain may be starting to consume the successes the technology has made over the last few years. As aucontraire noted in his question, even Vitalik Buterin acknowledges that the current technology is not up to handling the large number of ERC20 tokens running on the Ethereum network.
With the number of ICOs about to explode on the scene, the Ethereum network will be tested over and over again in the future until the issue of scalability is finally solved. But will it be? I have heard a staggering 4000 numbers of potential ICOs are in the pipeline (so please correct me if I am wrong).
Will the Raiden Network, Plasma Framework and the Metropolis upgrade improve the scalability of the Ethereum network? Will further upgrades be required in the future as adoption of blockchain technology pick up pace? We are nowhere near critical mass in terms of adoption of cryptos and so much more innovation is still yet to be carried out.
It is quite possible that the thinkers who will solve this problem have not yet even arrived on the scene and are out there waiting to be discovered. Come on Vitalik! you are falling behind because it is starting to look like you are fighting a losing battle. Soon it will be 4000 against you in this battle!
A Populous blockchain can break this dependency on others and the increasing transaction cost. Yes, there will be cost associate in terms of developmental, implementation and maintenance costs but these would be small in comparison to the overall saving that can be achieved over time.
Maybe you do need to go hunt trains anymore, just wait on the Populous platform and the train pulling the carriages will come to you. The case for a new spur line is tremendous and will only benefit the future growth of Populous.
The argument for Populous to leave behind the Ethereum is a potentially big step to take and for the success of the company this maybe the only choice. Speed of transaction is key to getting money to where it is need quickly and it defeats the whole objective of putting the business on the blockchain if costs and transaction time becomes an issue.
If there is a Populous blockchain then possibly Populous nodes will be required. Count me in!
PS. Success is Not All Luck!
There is a certain element of luck in anything that you do but successes comes from planning and vision. Fast forward to the 1:01:00 mark for the comment that Clif made in the interview with Steve Nico Williams.
let’s be quite clear about this, Steve is explicitly saying that they are planning for success because success in business brings its’ own set of problems and if you don’t plan for success you be could be doomed to failure – Clif High
This is just another example of the type of thinking you would want from the head of a company who’s tokens you are invested in. The strategic planning carried out by Populous is all in the name of ADDING VALUE to PPT!
Finally, just going back to the statement Clif made in his June 2017 BNW#4,
represents our next opportunity for a real train engine and not mere track laying – Clif High
If you read the statement again in light of the response given by jahigrant it is indeed very revealing. We have all been concentrating on hunting trains but what now stands out are the words “not mere track laying”.
It appears that what Clif have been saying all along is that Populous is both a train engine and a track layer and Populous to me clearly has very very long legs.
Other Populous Posts
My latest post can be read by clicking the links below.
Populous – I’m in a Relationship!
https://steemit.com/populous/@marcusxman/populous-i-m-in-a-relationship
Populous – Business Synergy In Action?
https://steemit.com/populous/@marcusxman/populous-business-synergy-in-action
Populous – Adding Value, What’s Next?
https://steemit.com/populous/@marcusxman/populous-adding-value-what-s-next
Populous – Can Predict The Future?
https://steemit.com/populous/@marcusxman/populous-can-predict-the-future
There are more posts on Populous and you can find them here.
Should you have any questions concerning Populous you can approach Populous through their Slack Channel, Bitcointalk forum or Twitter Account for answers and clarifications.
This is NOT Financial Advice
In my humble opinion, the risks to the downside are small compared to the potential upside rewards. This should not be construed as financial advice but an opinion only. As usual do not invest more than you can afford to lose as these investments can go to zero and always do your own due diligence.
Feel free to comment as you see fit below.
Hi fully support Populous posts such as this. I too have written about Populous and I'm SUPER excited about what "Nico" and other are doing.
~= moxie =~
@marcusxman, very nice and useful article you write about cryptocurrency, much informations and updates here. i appreciate your efforts... Thanks
Hi @rabeel I only write about Populous because it is the one I am most familiar. Just want to inform people about Populous based on my opinion.
Thanks for reading my post.
I think you have a typo: "Train Engine Cum Track Builder" ?
Its an actual word, maybe I should hyphenate also.
Ah. In the US we say "dim sum", if it's the same.
We go to "yum cha" for "dim sum".
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