Watch out for IOTA. It's going to change things.
Instead of a single chain of blocks, it's structured as a directed acyclic graph (DAG). Instead of a single computer being chosen to write the next block for everyone through PoW or PoS, previous transactions are validated by new transactions. Whenever you make a new transaction, you validate two previous transactions.
This solves all of the big problems with Bitcoin and other blockchain-based ledgers.
There are no transaction fees, ever (at least not on the network). Since the sender must do a little bit of work, they're effectively paying the network and there's no reason to pay a transaction fee to another party. This allows for true micro-transactions without the need for some side-chain technology like Lightning or Raiden.
The upper limit on speed is determined only by the hardware and software of the Internet. Bitcoin and Ethereum can only do a few dozen transactions per second, at best. VISA does around 2000/s, and IOTA is the only distributed ledger that can compete with that, or even exceed it (Ripple gets close, but that's a different story). Unlike Bitcoin and Ethereum, which get slower as there are more transactions, IOTA gets faster as more people/machines use it.
Since all participants in the IOTA network are aligned, there is no separation of concerns between user groups. Bitcoin and Ethereum separate miners from users, which are two groups whose interests are not always aligned. BCH, BTG, and B2X are all the evidence of this you need. IOTA is free from this drama because everyone that uses the network uses it in the same way.
The IOTA foundation is focusing on encouraging Internet of Things implementations, which is a smart move. But there is nothing keeping IOTA from being a general-purpose, everyday, world-wide currency and fulfilling Satoshi's vision. I'm into it.
Instead of a single chain of blocks, it's structured as a directed acyclic graph (DAG). Instead of a single computer being chosen to write the next block for everyone through PoW or PoS, previous transactions are validated by new transactions. Whenever you make a new transaction, you validate two previous transactions.
This solves all of the big problems with Bitcoin and other blockchain-based ledgers.
There are no transaction fees, ever (at least not on the network). Since the sender must do a little bit of work, they're effectively paying the network and there's no reason to pay a transaction fee to another party. This allows for true micro-transactions without the need for some side-chain technology like Lightning or Raiden.
The upper limit on speed is determined only by the hardware and software of the Internet. Bitcoin and Ethereum can only do a few dozen transactions per second, at best. VISA does around 2000/s, and IOTA is the only distributed ledger that can compete with that, or even exceed it (Ripple gets close, but that's a different story). Unlike Bitcoin and Ethereum, which get slower as there are more transactions, IOTA gets faster as more people/machines use it.
Since all participants in the IOTA network are aligned, there is no separation of concerns between user groups. Bitcoin and Ethereum separate miners from users, which are two groups whose interests are not always aligned. BCH, BTG, and B2X are all the evidence of this you need. IOTA is free from this drama because everyone that uses the network uses it in the same way.
The IOTA foundation is focusing on encouraging Internet of Things implementations, which is a smart move. But there is nothing keeping IOTA from being a general-purpose, everyday, world-wide currency and fulfilling Satoshi's vision. I'm into it.