The Ethereum blockchain protocol, bousted with protections from fraud and third-party interference, is the hottest thing in cryptocurrency. Transactions on the decentralized platform for running and programming software applications now triple the number of rival bitcoin transactions, according to data by Bitinfocharts. Other blockchain protocols are cropping up, and they may supplant traditional applications as the major online money-maker, according to Matt Kirincic (pictured), business analyst at Arcadia Crypto Ventures.

With the traditional internet, money flowed to application-based companies, including Google, Amazon, Netflix, etc. “Now money could be — or value could be — flowing to these protocols that will all be very different,” Kirincic said. A protocal is something that cryptotokens and projects run on. While Ethereum has a first-mover advantage in the market, there is campground open to others, he added.

Kirincic spoke with John Furrier (@furrier), host of theCUBE, SiliconANGLE Media’s mobile livestreaming studio, during the AWS Summit in NYC. They discussed the experimental cryptocurrency scene and the rise of blockchain protocols. 

Breeding ground for niche protocols

Silicon Valley (and beyond) is littered with technologists trying to scratch out the most value from cryptocurrencies and protocols. “There’s thousands of people on Medium and everywhere else writing about their valuation methods and whatnot, so we try to experiment with everything and figure out what’s best or what fits each particular model,” Kirincic said.

The soil is fertile for niche protocols that offer the best platforms for different breeds of decentralized applications and currencies. “There will be protocols that will be more suited for accounting-based things and protocols that will be suited for media- and transportation-based things,” Kirincic said.

One newer protocol, the Internet of Service platform, aims to solve scalability problems with high transactional throughput. IOS could power things that require faster transactional throughput, while Ethereum would suffice for things that don’t, he explained.

Value will grow out of people using the networks, Kirincic added. “As more people want to use it, whether what they’re paying for is denoted in United States dollars or in bitcoin, that network should be choked at a certain point where the price will go up,” he concluded.

Watch the complete video interview below, and be sure to check out more of SiliconANGLE’s and theCUBE’s coverage of the AWS Summit in NYC.

Photo: SiliconANGLE