When a website goes down, it’s because there is a centralised point of failure: the webserver. What if the concept of decentralisation that Bitcoin proposes can be applied to computing so that vulnerability is removed? That’s where Ethereum comes in.
The Second Fiddle
Just as Bitcoin offers a decentralised alternative to centralised value, Ethereum offers a decentralised alternative to centralised computing.
People are excited about it because Ethereum allows developers to run software on its Blockchain. That software is executed by the whole network, rather than just one server. So, if one node on the network goes down, it doesn’t matter because it can still be run by others. So long as there are users on the network, that software can always be run.
I understand why Bitcoin costs so much, but why does Ether?
Running software on a traditional web server is not free, there are ongoing costs (electricity, maintenance, etc). The same is true for software on Ethereum.
Once developers have deployed their software to Ethereum, they need to pay to run it. And the accepted currency is Ether (ETH).
So if you buy Ether, you are investing in Ethereum’s potential to replace traditional centralised technology platforms, because developers will always need Ether to pay for their software to run.
