Prices Aside, Crypto's Tech Stack Is Steadily Improving
A look at the headlines of late may leave you with a familiar conclusion – with all the ups and downs in the market, it's just too early to take crypto seriously. And it's true, despite the best efforts of even the industry's most notable developers, the world's largest cryptocurrencies remain not just volatile, but difficult (and risky) to use, at least in a way that their creators' intended. Still, heading into 2018, enthusiasts the world over are hard at work on improvements. As such, there's optimism advances could start to compound, creating a user experience that finally starts to transcend the issues – namely, the high fees and long wait times – users of most blockchains have become all too accustomed to. In fact, in the year ahead, blockchain users could see exciting new features and scientific firsts that just might help push the industry closer to that vision: 1. Off-chain channels What if it was possible for blockchain-based tr