Comment by patrickk | Hacker News Reader

Comment by patrickk | Hacker News Reader

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I feel exactly the same about the crypto space.

Yes, there's tons of hype, nonsense and even scams, but the cream will eventually rise to the top, and the best ideas will survive. I've listened recently to some podcasts with Olaf Carlson-Wee, someone who has thought long and deep about the implications of having funding at the protocol-level of the internet, and how it could swing the balance away from large, centralised web monopolies who capture most of the value, towards the users of the network[1]. Union Square ventures also have some interesting ideas as to where the future of the internet might be heading.[2]

It's hard to see where we're heading with all the short term price boom and busts though, which I agree are unconnected with reality (currently).

[1] Two podcasts + notes with Carlson-Wee- http://buynhodl.com/ethereum-investment/ether-investor-focus...

[2] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12247892

I think once it goes through this bubble we're going to see it's real applications. It's like what Wired Founder Kevin Kelly often says, you have to look at the stuff that was the "next big thing" five years ago. Social networks didn't really take off until Friendster and Myspace moved first and failed. I think it's the same with Bitcoin.

Exactly. It takes the first mover to discover there's some value in new space, like early social media or Bitcoin. Because there's no roadmap, they early efforts often fail, and the later arrivals take the core, good idea and learn from the failures.

I think in the crypto space, much of the value will not actually be in P2P cash systems, but in P2P decentralised apps that will enable a decentralised web to emerge, and early adopters and network users will capture most of the value in these networks (instead of large centralised companies).

Also, having a new funding model (crowd funded token sales) could unlock massive amounts of capital to fund new projects. The implications of this could be unprecedented - so many ideas and talent, particularly outside the US, currently goes unfunded. I doubt that anybody, up till a few years ago expected to see a way that traditional funding models for new companies would emerge, literally out of the ether. Turns out there's a torrent of speculative cash waiting for founding teams (yes, at some point there will be a massive crash, but like venture funding post the dotcom, lessons will be learned and the valuable ideas retained).

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