Blockchain - A talk with Vitalik Buterin

Last October I had the opportunity to have a talk with Vitalik Buterin, creator of Ethereum (and really smart and ironic person. Notice the "Doge" in his computer). For those who are not familiar with what blockchain is, take a look at this article.

During our interview at the National ChengChi University of Taipei, we discussed the past, present, and future of this new hype and the prospective plans of Ethereum, the blockchain, and ICOs.

Ethereum, the blockchain that challenges the Blockchain canvas together with the Bitcoin, was developed in 2013 by the Russian Vitalik Buterin. Nowadays, Ether is the second most used currency in the world after Bitcoin, and so much is its popularity that some experts claim that it could get over it. With such a promising future, it is not surprising that big companies have looked at it. Microsoft, IBM or Deloitte have begun to invest seriously in this blockchain.

How does ether work?

All transactions carried out with ethers are registered, cannot be canceled and regulate the "double expense" paradigm. The mentioned transactions are grouped into blocks, and each that arises generates a new ether, which causes that money is created progressively. With technical differences of an algorithm, this system of transaction and mining is similar to Bitcoin but there are also other peculiarities that have aroused the interest by Ethereum.

What is the difference between Ethereum and Bitcoin?

Unlike Bitcoin, which is expected to stop producing in 2140, the ether is unlimited, and part of the funds of its creation come from crowdfunding. Therefore, a large amount of the coin belongs to all those who supported the idea initially. Since there is no maximum number of ethers defined, this virtual currency, unlike Bitcoin, is not deflationary.

On the other hand, the programming of Ethereum is simpler and allows to perform more actions than Bitcoin. The fact that it is so practical helps developers to design applications faster and with less effort. Ethereum is even able to close an agreement between a boss and an employee through an intelligent contract, which will dictate how much money the subject should or should not charge based on the agreements and their work.

The role of ICOs

Today, a startup can get $30M in 60 seconds thanks to ICOs. Bitcoin crossed the $40 billion line for market cap, ether recovered more than 700%, and the combined value of all cryptocurrencies is of $105 billion (surpassing financial giants such as Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley).

Undoubtedly, the cryptographic files underlying a growing universe of block2block protocols now have their own separate, unique asset class from the one that came before. And the proof is in the numbers. The total block venture capital for the year has already been exceeded by ICO funds for the first time, and the trend has only accelerated since then.

It is now known that ICOs raised more than $ 100 million, with several projects in the last 30 days accumulating nine-digit sums (based on the current value of Bitcoin and ether contributed, of course). Most have established crowdfunding records of all time, only to have them broken days or weeks later.

In short, a new wave of investment interest has led retail investors and institutional funds to align to take advantage of the growing appetite for new chips. As part of CoinDesk's upcoming Q2 2017 Blockchain status report, we are trying to better understand how the blockchain industry sees these historical trends - both from a positive and a negative perspective.

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The most important question yet: Are we in the middle of a crypto-bubble?

Would the ICO mania collapse with a drop in Bitcoin and ether prices? Is the mainstream finally getting interested in blockchain technology or simply speculating about the next token peak?

(Feel free to comment with your thoughts regarding the crypto-bubble)