The concept of cryptocurrency began with the inception of the first crypto named Bitcoin. Founded by an anonymous person Satoshi Nakamoto, it laid the foundation of a new decentralized peer-to-peer electronic money that does not need to follow the regulations of central authority be it banks or the government. After the global success of Bitcoin, came the array of new alternatives which are called altcoins. All came with a motive to become the next Bitcoin, but most of them failed. But there are crypto coins like Ethereum which can compete with Bitcoin. Both of them are known to be famous crypto competitors.
Cryptocurrency is a virtual and secure currency that cannot be counterfeited so simply. These digital currencies are those assets that rest upon the distributed networks. And with that we mean there is no control of any government or any other central authorities. When we talk about cryptocurrencies, then we cannot skip blockchain technology. Other than cryptography and encrypting methods they are the main factors for network security and make no possibility of tampering. Each transactional record is stored on the chain of blocks. And these records are unchangeable and accurate.
Just like we are inquisitive in doing comparisons between the technologies, similarly, there is a curiosity to find out which among these cryptos is better. Since Bitcoin is globally popular crypto, can we say that Ethereum is the better alternative to it? Well, to find it out you must read this article till the end. Here we are going to brief you about their pros and cons and will help you come up with the decision in knowing which one is better.
Basics: Ethereum vs Bitcoin
Now to explore the similarities or differences between two major crypto competitors – Bitcoin and Ethereum, let us have a brief understanding of their basics.
Bitcoin was launched by a mysterious identity named Satoshi Nakamoto on 3rd January 2009. It was introduced as a newbie idea via its whitepaper drafted by its developer and founder. According to its whitepaper, Bitcoin is an online currency that runs without depending on any central authority, be it government or banks. This makes it different from fiat currencies which are issued by the government.
Bitcoin can be called a predecessor of all alternate currencies as it was founded first. This crypto became a global success in its early success. Many people became richer with it. Some of the popular names include Barry Silbert, Brian Armstrong, Winklevoss Twins, and Akshay Haldipur from India.
Coming to Ethereum, the alternate crypto is a brainchild of Vitalik Buterin, a Canadian writer and programmer. The launching of this cryptocurrency took place in July 2015. It holds the status of being the second-most popular cryptocurrency after Bitcoin. Ethereum is known to be an established and open-ended decentralized software platform.
This crypto platform allows the deployment of dApps and smart contracts to be built and operated without any interference from a third party, fraud, or control. Ethereum comes acquainted with its programming language operating on a blockchain letting building and running of distributed apps by developers. It is advised to stay abreast with Ethereum news predictions on crypto websites as they come up with new updates.
Ethereum’s potential applications are ranged on a wider scale. It is powered by Ether, its native crypto token. It is abbreviated with the symbol of ETH. Long ago, Ethereum even came up with the launch of its native crypto presale and it resulted in a staggering response.
Ether can be understood as fuel for operating commands on the Ethereum platform and is utilized by developers in building and functioning applications on the platform. ETH finds its best use as collateral, for a store of value, and also for payments around the world. Like other cryptocurrencies, this crypto is traded on exchanges. You might be interested in knowing about the Ethereum price prediction for 2025. It is expected to reach its maximum of $8,984.84.
Now the difference
Now coming back to our main objective which is to note down the differences between Ethereum and Bitcoin. Well, as mentioned above, both are close competitors in the crypto arena in terms of their large market cap. Where Bitcoin’s market cap is $441,624,659,044, Ethereum is around $196,301,356,612. The price of BTC in July 2022 is $23,111.04. The price of Ether is $1,637.81. Hence, Bitcoin still leads its competitor.
Pros and cons of BTC and ETH
Let’s begin with Bitcoin first
- Counting upon the pros of Bitcoin, the foremost cryptocurrency excels in being a globally popular brand, most liquidity, and is accepted widely.
- Supply and demand are the two major factors on which its value is based not of any political influence.
- Outsmarts fiat currencies in transaction speed.
- Coming to the cons of Bitcoin, it is a highly volatile asset
- Is not environmentally friendly as it consumes excess energy which is negative for climate change.
- Bitcoin does not guarantee 100% anonymity
Now Ethereum
- Ethereum is not limited to only functioning as a digital currency, it is beyond that. For example smart contracts and dApps.
- Larger developer community.
- Fares better than Bitcoin in terms of speedy transactions
- It is heading towards becoming environmentally sustainable.
- Coming to cons, it is not equivalent to the global popularity of Bitcoin.
- Contrary to Bitcoin, Ethereum charges higher transaction fees.
- Other than its close competitor, Ethereum is even overshadowed by Solana, also called ‘’Ethereum Killer’’.
- Not having a limited supply could dampen the demand for ETH tokens.
Which is the best among the two for investment?
Bitcoin as we know is a globally popular cryptocurrency that has become an example of people becoming millionaires. Commercially, it has the maximum support. If you ask for the best alternative to fiat money, then Bitcoin is a good choice. But you must also be prepared for market volatility.
Technically, Ethereum is merely a cryptocurrency. This network comes as a marketplace for those users who are willing to buy and sell goods and dApps. So in this case, if you are looking beyond a cryptocurrency, then Ethereum comes as a good pick for you. Log on to the Cryptoknowmics website for Ethereum news in India and worldwide.