Content
Ethereum vs Bitcoin: which will win?
4
min.
Bitcoin is an indisputable leader among cryptocurrencies. From its very launch up for today, it demonstrates an unbelievable rise that seems to continue forever. Its closest rival, ETH, is much cheaper and appeared much later on the market. At the time of writing, the price of BTC is over $48.8 thousand while ETH is “only” around $4 thousand. These numbers cannot be compared, can they? But this is a “much more complex game” and cannot be simplified to Ethereum vs Bitcoin battle. Ether demonstrates the incredible ability to move up and it seems that it is quite able to catch up with Bitcoin. Let’s try to make an assumption on this burning issue.
What are the Bitcoin peculiarities?
Launched in 2009, BTC was the ever first cryptocurrency based on blockchain technologies. It attracts numerous investors including the largest ones. Its total supply is limited to 21 million and this fact fosters public interest.
BTC seems relatively stable and simple as crypto can ever be. No surprise that lots of its enthusiasts started to use it more like a store of value than a means of payment. Though it demonstrates the extreme downs from time to time, the general trend remains the same: it moves upward, and the BTC price increases in the longer term. It proved to be the most profitable asset in both digital and real-world markets.
It is highly liquid – according to CoinMarketCap, its trading volume is over $21.5 billion in the last 24 hours at the time of writing. This means that Bitcoin can be easily converted into fiat money any time you wish.
The Ethereum basics and even more
And what makes Ethereum different from Bitcoin? The answer is – everything. They are completely different from one another though they both are popular cryptocurrencies. And this difference begins from the very concept that forms their basis. As Alex Adelman, the CEO and co-founder of the Lolli application have noticed, gold and electricity both have value but they cannot be compared. The same is true for these two main cryptocurrencies and their blockchains.
Different goals
Bitcoin is pure digital money as it is. At the same time, Ethereum provides a full-fledged infrastructure for application development. This network was launched in 2014, 5 years later than Bitcoin. Its goal is not to provide customers only with a tool of payment and asset transfer but its team strives to make a unique proposition to the crypto community.
This proposition was embodied in the multifunctional platform based on blockchain that includes:
- Smart contracts that can be concluded between two parties.
- To conclude a smart contract, a user can utilize the platform’s native token ETH or create their own token using the open-source code.
- The opportunities to launch startups and ICOs on the platform.
Different functions
Unlike BTC which is monofunctional by its nature, Ether’s two main functions are
- Being used as any other cryptocurrency (trading, transferring, paying, or storing)
- Being used to run applications on the Ethereum network
At the time of writing, the ETH trading volume is $14 billion in the last 24 hours. It demonstrated 533% growth from October 2020 to April 2021, and total growth of 946% in the past year. This is no surprise that with the development of the Ethereum network, the demand for ETH grows consequently boosting the price in the market.
In simple words, Ethereum is backed by the real value of its network’s infrastructure that is continuously growing and developing. This is a great advantage and the reason why many experts bet on Ethereum as an absolute winner among cryptocurrencies in the long run.
Ethereum vs Bitcoin: which of them you should buy?
The violent struggle among which token is better for investment, Bitcoin or Ether, is one of the most active in the crypto community. Both are extremely popular and gain much recognition among crypto investors. Both boost the changes and became the pioneers of digitalization. Both have their own followers and supporters who can give numerous reasons why they have chosen this very asset.
Today, Bitcoin seems to be more mainstream. It is old and known even for those who are far from blockchain and cryptocurrency. It is difficult to find a person who has never heard about BTC and its great value. This glorification favors much the stability of BTC as nearly all newcomers to the crypto market start with Bitcoin. The limited total supply seems to be great prevention from inflation and demand booster.
On the other hand, Ethereum was launched later than its rival but this later start allowed to consider all shortcomings and defects of a forerunner, take them into account, facilitate the interaction with the blockchain and upgrade the users’ performance. ETH is riskier than BTC but it also gives a promise of higher rewards and a bunch of benefits other than payments and storing. The total number of ETH is unlimited, and this fact encourages miners to participate in the mining process (although it is necessary to mention that Ethereum mining will soon become obsolete, but this topic is for another talk).
So each of them is worth your attention and there are benefits to using both of them. We think that they are a must-have in any crypto portfolio.
The bottom line
I love this stuff – Bitcoin, Ethereum, Blockchain technology – and what the future holds
Abigail Johnson, chair and CEO of Fidelity Investments
It is hard to argue with Abigail Johnson. It is not really correct to oppose these two powerful cryptocurrency systems as they both popularize blockchain in their own ways benefiting their owners. And Ethereum vs Bitcoin battle will not happen.
