The programmable Turing-complete blockchain Ethereum is on the tip of everyone’s tongue these days. There has been quite a bit of discussion about the protocol in both mainstream media and the crypto-circuit itself. The currency Ether the fuel of the network is currently valued at $13.50-14 USD per unit with a market capitalization still above a billion at the time of this writing. With a lot of focus on the project, the DAO Hub, people are wondering what other missions and projects that surround the Ethereum network are coming?
Ethereum Development & Infrastructure Continues to Progress
Parity
The start up Ethcore has been steadily coding an Ethereum client they call the “world’s fastest and lightest.” There are various Ethereum clients such as geth, and mist all coded with different programming languages. Parity created by the Ethcore team is written in the Rust language, and the founder of the startup former Ethereum CTO Gavin Wood speaks highly of its performance.
Ethcore wants to bring enterprise firms to Ethereum, and the company has raised $750 thousand in funding from Blockchain Capital, and Fenbushi Capital. Parity can be used for all Ethereum needs the Ethcore website says and on GitHub the project is licensed under the GPLv3 and available for public view. Ethcore says Parity is the foundation of the company’s goals stating:
“The Parity software client forms the bedrock for the company’s continued innovation in concert with the Ethereum community. Ethcore’s software technology roadmap includes light-client technology for secure IoT applications, permissioned chains, scalability and confidentiality features as well as application-level libraries for use by developers and third-party projects.”
Casper
Ethereum developer Vlad Zamfir is working on a project called Casper which is a proof-of-stake algorithm for the network. Zamfir says Casper is a “security-deposit based economic consensus protocol” that will protect the Ethereum network from attack. The protocol uses a Byzantine fault tolerance within its environment and is said to enable a robust suite of tools for developers as well as collaborate with light clients like Parity. Vitalik Buterin inventor of Ethereum calls Casper “fundamentally new philosophy in the field of public economic consensus: the concept of consensus-by-bet.” Ethereum developer Zamfir also believes there will be more transactions per second when the POS takes effect as he details in his introduction to Casper:
“Casper’s blockchain does allow for faster block times than is possible with proof-of-work consensus.”
Jaxx
One of the Ethereum co-founders Anthony Di Iorio and his firm Decentral also wants to facilitate the Ethereum network and its community. The Decentral team have recently introduced Jaxx a fleet of new Ether wallets for Android, iOS, Mac, Windows, Firefox, and Chrome extensions. Jaxx has recently added DAO integration, and the company is introducing a platform where users can see proposals, create them, vote, and other capabilities. The RocketDAO will be your complete DAO command centre says Decentral. Alongside this, the Toronto-based company has a prototype in the making called Ice Cube which is a hand-held cold storage hardware device for Ethereum. Jaxx also supports Bitcoin and is a multi-functional wallet with way more features to come says, Di Iorio. The firm says it is continuing to grow, and the team is hiring developers. Additionally, this September Decentral and Ethereum Canada are hosting the Blockchain World Expo trade show that will provide an engaging environment for those bolstering this technology. Di Iorio explains:
“The blockchain has the potential to be as disruptive as the internet. It is a comprehensive technology with impacts to be felt in many financial and nonfinancial industries over the coming decades. This is the right time to showcase the many emerging ecosystems, platforms, and companies that are at the forefront of this exciting new technology, and Toronto and Canada are well positioned to host this premier event.”
There’s More
When researching the development of Ethereum, there is a lot of action happening. With a partnership with Wanxiang Blockchain Labs, the Ethereum Foundation will also host its Devcon 2 event simultaneously with the Global Blockchain Summit in Shanghai. Projects like the Brooklyn-based Consensys team have introduced BTC relay the first Ethereum and Bitcoin sidechain. Upcoming Casper implementation could mean new economic changes to the network which includes mining incentives and many variables with it POS algorithm. Additionally with all eyes focused in on the DAO the Slock.it team of developers has released a few tutorials on the DAO voting process.
The virtual cryptocurrency and smart contract blockchain protocol has everyone in a dizzy. There are really quite a lot of projects happening within the Ethereum landscape and its hard to follow it all, but that’s what Live Bitcoin News is meant to do; give our readers the breakdown of all these projects. Some companies surrounding the Ethereum blockchain may be successful, and others will fail but at the one thing is for sure. Live Bitcoin News will keep you up to date in this vast land of cryptographic achievements! Stayed tuned for more news about this fascinating industry.
Source: Various Ethereum-related News, blogs, companies and websites
Images: Various Ethereum-related News, blogs, companies and websites