What’s The Best Crypto? — Bitcoin Vs Ethereum
The blockchain world is led by two massive giants — Bitcoin and Ethereum. They both have a similar objective, but different structures. While bitcoin has a clear lead in price per unit, Ethereum has an intricate system that shows great potential.
Bitcoin Vs Ethereum
Bitcoin and Ethereum have been the crypto leaders for years based on market capitalization, however, the similarities end there. Each coin is a completely different entity created for distinct reasons.
Bitcoin is the first-ever cryptocurrency created by Satoshi Nakamoto in 2019, with the intention of reinventing regular currency and store of value in a digital form. In contrast, Ethereum is much more than just a form of payment. Ethereum has the goal and potential to revolutionize the whole centralized fiat economy with its DeFi ecosystem.
Both have changed many ways we look at different industries. Crypto has changed how many industries operate including the travel, gaming, banking, live streaming and gambling industries just to name a few
Advantages Of Bitcoin
The secret behind any successful cryptocurrency is its usefulness and Bitcoin has been nothing but that. It is the first and original digital coin that was created and most likely the most valuable for this reason.
Ever since the start, Bitcoin has been nothing but dominant and no other crypto has come even close to BTC in value ETH included. Even though the currency used to be regarded as a joke, just like Dogecoin is today, the so-called “worthless currency” that used to be traded for pennies is currently bigger than Facebook or Google with its peak capital reaching more than $2 trillion.
Liquidity
Bitcoin is the best crypto when it comes to liquidity. It can be easily traded for money whether on exchanges or by friends. Everyone wants to get their hands on Bitcoin, which means a much higher volume of trades and a lesser spread.
However, while easily converted to convenient fiat cash, the currency is very susceptible to wild price swings. The price of Bitcoin is known to be extremely volatile and changing its price constantly, which could be just as much of a negative as a positive. Regardless, liquidity remains a clear positive.
Low Fees
Cryptocurrencies tend to have lower transaction fees over fiat services in general. However, in comparison to Ethereum, Bitcoin simply crushes it. Not only are BTC fees lower but ETH is known for ridiculous gas fees that are paid to miners.
When it comes to actual specifics, Bitcoin transactions don’t usually cost more than 1% of the transaction. Meanwhile, Ethereum keeps getting the platform into many controversies.
Limited Amount
Bitcoin is structured with a limited supply. The amount of coins cannot exceed 21,000,000, meaning the value cannot be further diluted or inflated giving it more value.
Much like gold, the currency becomes more valuable as time passes. However, unlike gold, BTC doesn’t and cannot have more supply made furthermore. This does put Bitcoin’s future in a grey area as nearly 90% of all Bitcoin has already been mined.
Advantages Of Ethereum
While the majority of all cryptocurrencies are just poor copies of Bitcoin, Ethereum is much more unique than even Bitcoin itself. The platform is still a growing concept however the idea of it is to revolutionize our centralized financial system and not just our store of value.
Although very ambitious, Ethereum has had a number of setbacks and the platform is perfect by any means. Even though Ethereum itself is very secure, applications that utilize the network are not.
DeFi Network (Decentralized Finance)
There are countless stable coins working on the DeFi ecosystem with the majority of them being built on Ethereum’s foundation. Unlike other blockchain inventions, Ethereum is able to act as a base for developers and allow unique applications to be made.
The success of one of the coins in DeFi apps contributes to the overall success of Ethereum since every transaction needs Ether in order to execute.
Play-To-Earn Gaming
Every crypto enthusiast almost unanimously agrees that a decentralized economy is extremely beneficial and so do the gamers. From online casinos to MMOs, game developers have been implementing decentralized systems in their games.
Some of the biggest and most successful examples are Axie Infinity or Ember Sword’s land ownership. Most of these games utilize Ethereum to some extent and investing in ETH is like investing in all these subsets of projects.
Smart Contracts
The system is identical to real-world paper contracts, but without the requirement for an arbitrator or enforcement party, or authority. A smart contract ensures the exact implementation of its clauses without needing a third party to enforce them.
The contracts are already embedded in the blockchain and completely autonomous. As the contracts are built into the blockchain, no brokers or other forms of agreement are necessary.
Proof Of Stake
In the past, the blockchain operated on the same protocol as Bitcoin — Proof of Work. By switching to Proof of Stake (PoS) instead of just computer power, the new system gives the advantage to those with the most ownership stakes.
In addition, PoS eliminates mining’s associated costs, such as electricity, hardware, and so on, reducing the sales of ETC. Due to this, the value of ETH will increase even further.
In Summary
When it comes down to determining cryptocurrency by definition, Bitcoin is the clear winner. Bitcoin is a store of value and nothing else making it the perfect crypto. Ethereum might be lagging behind, but other major blockchain technologies like NFT rely heavily on the Ethereum platform, making it unique.
