The Raiden test network has been deployed. This is a good first step toward scalability in Ethereum. For those who don't know, there is a video below which describes what Raiden is.
Raiden is basically Ethereum's version of the Lightening network. In essence it is off chain scaling, which has pros and cons. In the context of Ethereum, the fact that it could beat Bitcoin to the punch on this is interesting. At the same time Bitcoin has less to gain from something like this than Ethereum because Bitcoin must remain Proof of Work while Ethereum is headed toward Casper.
