Yes I understand your scepticism, specially after all that hype with crypo 2.0 projects which raised a lot of money even if they did not have anything working… smelled always a bit like ponzi, or at least not very responsible attitude…

The main reason why I see Ethereum different is because of Vitalik Buterin.
He is a very special and very smart person with really high reputation. I simply trust him.
The goal of the project is pretty high (use a turing complete script language - Satoshi was not willing to take that risk) and I would not trust other random devs to get that really going.

But best is for sure to read as much of the information out there (and dont get disturbed by bitcointalk/reddit noise).
To invest in such projects is for sure high risk, but the project itself has so much other interesting potentials, that talking too much about the IPO/investment is kind of boring. People who want to invest need to inform themself well.
Others should see it as a project which could cause a lot of change.
Specially in the political and social sense it could bring us a new culture of decentralisation (decentralized, dropbox, facebook, liquid democracy, voting systems, reputation systems, DAO, ….).
Ethereum will not be used as money in the first place but rather serves as the operating system where apps or other crypto currencies/financial products will be executed.

br,
manfred


Am 07.02.2014 um 18:59 schrieb Thomas Hartman <thomas@???>:

> It's almost impossible to know what's going on behind the scenes.
>
> My recommendation for ethereum is read the whitepaper and the
> bitcointalk threads, try to get some understanding of the technology
> involved, and decide if a) it will be used b) do altcoin investors
> THINK it could be used, meaning it jumps at the ipo.
>
> Frankly all the bitcoin 2.0 stuff (distributed exchange) is highly
> speculative. There are something like 5 well funded projects pursuing
> this, including ripple, and in my mind they could all fail. If one
> succeeds though, the coin backing it will appreciate hugely. IF.
>
> So, try to understand the technology, and then if you are semi
> convinced (because you will never be more than semi) invest
> conservatively. Cynicism is bad for software development, but it's
> good for investing, especially investing in something as speculative
> as bitcoin 2.0/ethereum/whatevercoin.
>
>
>
>
>
> On Fri, Feb 7, 2014 at 9:01 AM, Ruben Brito <urbenz@???> wrote:
>> I have a question about Ethereum. I love the project, but I don't know
>> enough about it.
>>
>> 1) Who is on the board for Ethereum? Someone has told me there is a former
>> Goldman Sachs employee on there, but I didn't see a board listed on the
>> website as of a week or two ago. I did hear Goldman and Sachs referenced in
>> the video.
>>
>> 2) How much ether is premined? I know it's nowhere near 50%, and when I
>> asked Vitalik he said some was premined, but didn't give a percentage.
>>
>> Ruben
>>
>> Freelance Writer for Bitcoin Magazine
>> Portfolio
>>
>>
>>
>> On Fri, Feb 7, 2014 at 10:27 AM, Manfred Karrer <mk@???> wrote:
>>>
>>> Ah great to hear that! 16.2. sounds good, will pass by with 2 friends
>>> probably.
>>> Cu then,
>>> Manfred
>>>
>>> Am 07.02.2014 um 16:10 schrieb Amir Taaki <genjix@???>:
>>>
>>>> Yes we're here working now. Feel free to drop in anytime. We have a guy
>>>> working on a Bitcoin hardware project visiting us on Sunday, and the
>>>> local BTC community visiting on 16th.
>>>>
>>>> On 07/02/14 14:59, Manfred Karrer wrote:
>>>>> Hi guys,
>>>>>
>>>>> I live in Barcelona and would love to get a Ethereum Meetup organized
>>>>> here.
>>>>> Does anyone has some contacts to other Ethereum or BTC people in
>>>>> Barcelona or around BCN?
>>>>> I know there was a strong hub in Calafou last year, but I dont know if
>>>>> there are still Bitcoiners over there.
>>>>> Any help is highly appreciated.
>>>>>
>>>>> Thanks,
>>>>> Manfred
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
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