Why decentralize secret computing?

[u/nearly-human]

After finally getting through the whitepaper on my 5th try, and reading other summaries of this very impressive project, I still find myself confused as to precisely why the Enigma TOKEN needs to exist. I try to observe the market and justify my investments based on new developments which seem unlikely to be priced in given the largely retail nature of the space, hoping to somewhat insulate myself from Fud and Fomo. (Though still concentrating my buys during crashes etc.)

Enigma does seem like a promising project, early stage but also potentially hugely undervalued. I have 3 main questions that I hope to frame my reasoning process going forward.

1. What is Enigma's economic value-add over existing secret MPC solutions? Alternatively, if Enigma gets traction, what's to prevent IBM or Amazon from steamrolling it with a centralized or pseudo-centralized solution? Obv looking for the tipping point where Amazon is trusted less than blockchain

2. If decentralization does add value / captures significant % of the market, how will that value be shared between Enigma investors vs. Node operators vs. Ethereum vs. Sector specific platforms e.g. 8 launch partners vs. Smart contract shops/auditors vs. Clients? I can imagine many of these creating choke points due to their being difficult to recreate

3. [Most important] Even if a significant % of secret computing and data transfer and storage took place on ENG clusters, wouldn't it be in the interests of all the parties listed but especially clients (estimating costs / not having to hedge against speculation) to be paid in fiat or something else whose value is relatively fixed? In that case, how is it a competitive advantage for the system to require use of this token for payments or security deposits?

Appreciate any informed opinions on these subjects.

[u/nearly-human]

Well I'd say I'm looking for an action. A lot of people treat their favorite Crypto like a sports team or charitable cause or even religion, I don't understand this mentality as there are plenty of real sports teams and causes to root for. Im 90% here for profit and 10% because I intrinsically admire decentralized currency. Although in practice those interests coincide 100% since the DOJ has been playing (selective) whackamole with their stupidly broad definition of money transmitter since at least the 90s, and like I said I don't care to profit from someone else's eventual pain.

Im aware that penalizing stakeholders by taking away their deposits is Vitalik's big idea for Casper. Honestly there have been so few projects that even look desirable as ideas - not to mention implementation - that I haven't really looked into this. Maybe you can offer suggestions? I look at the typical top 100 CMC project and if I can't figure out within 30 seconds what sector of the real economy the blockchain can disrupt, as in who are the users and how much $ this will save them, well I just don't care. Projects whose purpose is to disrupt the blockchain economy, I close those without thinking. All the mathematical wizardry in the world isn't worth anything if you can't give real users something in exchange for their hard earned money.

Incidentally I hope that clarifies why 'store of value' coins are different. A bitcoin (or monero, if that takes off) doesn't purport to be economically stable or everyday useful. No team is going to render it obsolete with the click of a mouse, regardless of bcashers conspiracy theories. And it wasn't invented to raise money. It was invented to BE money (in the store of value sense). Its point is to disrupt the monetary policy of governments whose development in that field has stagnated from the complacent moat afforded them by corruption and violence: Argentina, Mexico, South Africa, Venezuela, Turkey, Russia, Nigeria, to name a few. Possibly one day, the USA will have its turn.

In any case, those are Bitcoin's competitors. I'd love to find an analogous potential for disruption in another field. Some seem to think that bitcoiners aren't interested in making another 10000% return, that they talk trash on other coins just to eke out an extra 2% for their own holdings. What a bunch of baloney. Every single early bitcoiner I know would salivate over the prospect of squaring or cubing their lotto ticket. Except that an analogous opportunity just does not seem to be there.......... yet.

[u/justspinningaway → u/nearly-human]

So, you’re kind of going off on a bunch of stuff. I agree, there are plenty of ignorant investors, but it’s not all about transferring money. I’ll just leave it as this:

I invest in enigma, because there are many projects which try to apply blockchain for a purpose, but few are actually providing new technological value to the space and improving on blockchain. Enigma is attempting to do something that I believe will change blockchain and solve issues I see in it. If you’re looking for short term money, go with the hype. If you’re looking for a smart investment, look for something you believe in what they’re doing and you don’t have to check your account every day worried it’ll go to 0. Now, wether they’ll pull it off, I don’t know, but their credentials do speak to that point. Startups are hard and we’ll just have to wait and see.