Ethereum is a platform for decentralized computing. It's like a web server that is always on, never goes down, and you only pay for exactly what services you use (and no more). It is also uncensorable and perfectly immutable - which as a consequence is very useful for money. So one of the high-value services Ethereum supports is moving money and applications around money. This "money" is sometimes referred to as "tokens", which are like digital equity, bonds, currency, but are very hard to put in a single bucket and kind of operate like all of them at once. One interesting aspect is they are bearer instruments, meaning no one can seize them from you.
It's an alternative financial system that anyone can hack on and no one can prevent you from using. Many, especially on HN, quickly lose their Hacker ethos and revert to being state worshippers when it comes to the monetary system, for reasons I don't fully understand. But there is a sizable community of programmers around the world that value a completely open, transparent, hackable, and protocol-oriented financial system. Its network effects have allowed it to be greater than the sum of its parts, and novel financial applications continue to be constructed on it.
> Many, especially on HN, quickly lose their Hacker ethos and revert to being state worshippers when it comes to the monetary system, for reasons I don't fully understand.
Neither do I.
I believe it's sour grapes: they missed up on crypto following the advice of people/websites they trusted (given the negative outlook on HN since 2009), and it's becoming harder and harder to justify their past mistakes.
So it turns into cognitive dissonance.
Said differently, just like how it's hard for someone to understand something when them making a living depends on NOT understanding it, they must keep not understanding to justify their past mistakes.
Eventually, I think it will turn into a Ballmer-esque throwing chairs, and calling it a cancer, before coming to terms with reality.
It's an alternative financial system that anyone can hack on and no one can prevent you from using. Many, especially on HN, quickly lose their Hacker ethos and revert to being state worshippers when it comes to the monetary system, for reasons I don't fully understand. But there is a sizable community of programmers around the world that value a completely open, transparent, hackable, and protocol-oriented financial system. Its network effects have allowed it to be greater than the sum of its parts, and novel financial applications continue to be constructed on it.