Blockchain Comparison, A Closer Look At Bitcoin, BitShares, and Ethereum

We have laid out a blockchain comparison to explain why and when we will integrate with certain blockchains. Follow My Vote software will initially be launched on the BitShares blockchain. Although we are intentionally designing our software to be as portable to different blockchains as possible, we did need to select one as our initial platform. We have identified three major blockchains that merit our consideration: Bitcoin, Ethereum, and BitShares.

Bitcoin

Bitcoin is a good option because it was the first blockchain, and it benefits from a great deal of network effect since so many people currently use it; however, it was not designed for third party integrations and thus building applications on the Bitcoin blockchain requires numerous tricks to co-opt various features of Bitcoin into purposes for which they were not intended. This is possible, but not ideal for an initial launch. Moreover, Follow My Vote understands that Bitcoin was originally intended to be a proof of concept, and while it has grown far beyond that role, there do remain questions about Bitcoin’s maintainability in the future. These questions are highlighted by the controversy over upgrading the chain to allow larger blocks, and the addition of unpopular functionality like Return By Fee.

Ethereum

Ethereum has built an image for itself as the default option for blockchain application development; however, Ethereum is attempting a lot of new ideas, and while we are excited to see what they can accomplish, we are also well aware of the challenges of designing a new type of blockchain. Ethereum allows arbitrary code execution as part of core blockchain validation, and there are legitimate questions about the security, performance, and economic implications of this. Moreover, Ethereum is, as of this writing, still a Proof of Work network. Since Proof of Work incentivizes greater centralization, Follow My Vote cannot be certain Ethereum will remain a suitable platform for voting, a use case more sensitive than most to censorship. This tendency toward centralization can be seen clearly in the more mature Bitcoin, where 10 individuals control 95% of the hashing power.

BitShares

Ultimately, Follow My Vote has chosen BitShares as their debut platform. Follow My Vote has a long relationship with BitShares, and the BitShares community has paid Follow My Vote to develop a stake-weighted voting system on their blockchain. We also believe that BitShares is a technically sound choice: BitShares is more mature than Ethereum, having already developed and launched version 2.0 of their platform which addresses many shortcomings found in the initial version. BitShares was designed a strong emphasis on third-party application support with real-world usability in mind, featuring deterministic block production on a rapid interval, reliable and reputable block producers, high performance, and predictable fees. BitShares also has a proven track record when it comes to chain upgrades, which provides confidence that it will survive in the highly competitive blockchain industry and adapt to market demand.

In conclusion, Follow My Vote recognizes that many existing blockchains have a lot to offer and we will be adding support for more blockchains in the future as it makes sense to do so. For the reasons outlined above, we have chosen BitShares as our initial platform, but we are intentionally designing our code base to be portable to new blockchains as easily as possible.