Ethereum smart contracts are getting a lot of attention these days, although very few people properly understand how they work. In a recent blog post by the Ether.Camp team, it became apparent as to how some of the more practical use cases of smart contracts already exist on the blockchain today. Transparency is an important aspect of the digital currency ecosystem as a whole, and a small explanation of how things work is just the nudge in the right direction this technology needs.
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Explaining Ethereum Smart Contracts
Even though the technology behind Ethereum smart contracts is quite appealing to developers and companies, understanding the concept is a different matter altogether. Having this toolset available to everyone in the world is a significant step in the right direction, and adding a layer of complete transparency to this concept is a smart move by Ether.Camp.
Among the examples that are already live on the blockchain today is SimpleAuction, which can display whether or not the auction event has already started. Additionally, smart contract technology can display what the auction is about, and who will benefit from making this particular sale. If the auction has bidders, this will show up in a related transaction as well. Should this person be outbid, their pledged amount will be returned to them instantly. At the end of this process, the pot is automatically transferred to the beneficiary, which can be either the seller or an escrow service.
Hosting a crowdsale on the Ethereum blockchain with a smart contract is another use case example. Tokens can be distributed automatically as investors send funds over to the dedicated address, and the total amount of available tokens is lowered automatically. In the end, the crowdsale token owner can just cash out all of the funds raised.
A more example showed off by the Ether.Camp team comes in the form of using Ethereum smart contracts as a marriage solution. Registering a marriage on the blockchain has become a possibility these days, although it remains to be seen if people will ever do so en masse. However, it would create a timestamped and permanent record of this event taking place, which has a romantic angle to it for sure.
Source: Ether.Camp Blog
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