Ether~ What is it, and how does it work?
This was our first few questions as well, for those of you who don't know, these currencies operate on whats known as “blockchain” technology. Well, so, what is blockchain than?
This is extremely important to understand. Blockchain to me, on an allegorical level reminds me of how the internet functions. There is so much technical stuff to this its almost impossible to explain what the “internet” is. Yet. things like email, website browsers, data transfers and phone calls all operate on an underlying layer thats known as TCP/IP. This is where things like the “darknet” or “deep web” operate. Blockchain isn't to much different in this respect.
In short, blockchain acts a type of ledger, where transactions contracts are made binding by the program itself, potentially disrupting many industries, such as banking, real estate and the stock market! We have always been excited about technologies that disrupt the current modalities of corporatism, especially as they are a mainstream problem today!
This portion of all crypto currencies is really seen as the main innovation. Bitcoin may have the power to become a global currency, but Ether ( also known more classically as Ethereum ) is using other advantages of the technology, to try and take on the movement of security transfers, real estate sales and potentially many other valuable market forms like contracts and lawyers. This open source platform for developers to build blockchain applications is extremely interesting, and tis is our main reason for investing!
Etheric Applications~
For this reason, we find Ether very exciting. You might also!If you want to rethink of the blockchain as similar the internet, and programs like Ethereum are then the applications that run across this platform (like email or web browsing). For instance the ability to execute contracts of ownership based off the blockchain script is in it self amazing. For those of you who have any experience with the Swift system, sending money can be a pain in the ass. We are charged large sums to do so and its takes three to five days to process, its atrocious.For something that should be instantaneous and extremely cheap to execute these old out dated systems are what are fuelling this new technology. The swift system is a kin to DOS, a slow single line system. Its ridiculous that this day in age, they wont allow more than 71 characters in each line!
What possibilities does Ether have in store
Its hard to say exactly, there are new applications boasting crowdfunding ideas, with built in contracts and script returns, this could be a great industry to check out. With lots of room to grow, the blockchain funding option is cheaper than most others, and with the waves its making, probably a lot more valuable in the long term.
Ethereum and its potential to take over contracts, for things such as real estate, or to be able to add physical assets to the blockchain and have assignable values opens up a whole new world of possibilities. Transfers of securities, or company to company transfers. Wefeel there is a huge gap in the market for products like this and believe in its long term value.
What is mining?
This process is different for each blockchain technology, but it basically keeps track of the ledger. For much more information on this as it is a little technical and out of my league, check out https://www.ethereum.org/ether
This breaks the process down into much better detail than I ever could.
If you are interested, sign up here with Minergate to check out all the crypto currencies your computer can mine!
How To Store Ether~ The Wallets
Personally, we have always been a fan of things like gold, silver and real estate. We enjoy assets we can touch and feel. Blockchain does have a tangible aspect, math is, although mostly intangible, it has very qualitative aspects. This is important in our structure, its also one of the reasons why we store our cryptos on a hardware wallet. We chose to use the Nano S as it supports separate encryption for your private keys as well as stores Ethereum, Bitcoin, Doge Coin, Dash and is adding new ones to their platform all the time.
The Arcane Conclusion
So, where do we end up. We have been watching crypto currency since Bitcoin was round 90$ and seen the world develop into something thats a lot more user friendly, secure and easier to understand. Its our contention that these ideas still have a long ways to go and there is no sense in trying to avoid a future disruptive technology. The Internet changed everything and we see blockchain doing the same thing to money, transactions, security, contracts, real estate and more. Its still early in the game and this makes for a great time to do your own research and start diving into the fascinating world of cryptocurrency.
We are so glad you have been joining us on our adventures through the snow and desert mountains of this new information. We will keep everyone updated regularly.
