"While the 2016 Stack Overflow survey only reached .4 percent of the estimated 15 million developers worldwide, a large majority of respondents (85.3 percent of full-stack developers) cited JavaScript as the programming language they most commonly use. Meanwhile, 32.2 percent of respondents cited Angular as the most important technology to them and 27.1 cited Node.js—giving JavaScript and JavaScript based technologies three of the top 10 slots among the most popular technologies used by developers. Angular was number five and Node.js came in at number eight."
http://www.eweek.com/developer/javascript-most-popular-language-stack-overflow-report.htmlJavascript and Angular (along with http and css, which are also popular/easy languages) is what the Lisk blockchain application stack is made up of. There are many more Javascript/Node/Angular/HTML/CSS developers than any other programming languages, so the sea of possible programmers is bigger than other smart contract platforms. For example, cryptocurrencies with AT... hardly many people know assembly language, or Ethereum created it's own language hardly anyone knows (Solidity). Therefore, it is my opinion that any certain random developer can jump in and get started with Lisk easier than with Ethereum. I was sad to see Crypti crash and burn, but at least Lisk came in to take its place.
I also think that each blockchain application having its own side chain is an interesting concept. I have not dug deep enough in the tech, but it seems there will be some inherent benefits (security?) and drawbacks (convenience?) that come along with that. It is a different animal than Ethereum, just as most cryptocurrencies in the top 10-20 are all different, each in their own unique way. I am not saying it is any better than Ethereum, but I am not saying it is any worse either. I think both have great potential. It depends on a lot of factors, mainly what and when blockchain applications are developed on each platform. In my opinion, it deserves its place among the top cryptocurrencies because it has potential to be something great.
Maybe I am biased though... I have been learning Javascript/Node/Angular for making web apps, and I already know HTML/CSS decent enough, so I am excited to attempt to make a blockchain application one day using Lisk.
One last reason, and possibly the best one:
