If you’re a cryptocurrency investor, it’s likely that at some point in your research, you’ve come across the two biggest names in the space: Bitcoin and Ethereum. You may even have wondered if one is better for your portfolio than the other.
In this guide, we’ll compare these two cryptocurrencies so that by the end of it you can make an informed decision about which might be best for you.
What is Ethereum?
Ethereum is one of the most interesting developments in blockchain technology, a decentralized network that runs on a smart contract platform. It makes it possible for individuals and businesses to run highly secure programs on its ledger with no downtime, fraud, or interference from third parties.
Ethereum is an open source project that was created by Vitalik Buterin, a 21-year old programmer. He made it publicly available in 2015 after working on it for two years. It’s built using blockchain technology that was pioneered by Bitcoin.
The Ethereum blockchain is also used for trading pairs – bitcoin (BTC), ether (ETH), litecoin (LTC) and fiat currencies such as USD and EUR. Trading pairs with BTC or USD, including ETH USDT are popular among traders because they allow you to use your existing BTC wallet or USD wallet to make trades on crypto exchanges.
What is Bitcoin?
Bitcoin is a cryptocurrency and worldwide payment system. It is the first decentralized digital currency, as the system works without a central bank or single administrator. The network is peer-to-peer and transactions take place between users directly, without an intermediary.
These transactions are verified by network nodes through the use of cryptography and recorded in a public distributed ledger called a blockchain. Bitcoin was invented by an unknown person or group of people under the name Satoshi Nakamoto and released as open-source software in 2009.
Bitcoin is a digital currency that can be traded. The most commonly traded currency pairs are BTC USDT and LTC/USD, but there are many other trading pairs as well.
What is the Difference Between Bitcoin and Ethereum?
Bitcoin and Ethereum are two of the most popular cryptocurrencies, but they’re also very different.
Supply
Bitcoin’s supply is capped at 21 million, while Ethereum’s supply is uncapped. Bitcoin’s supply has been decreasing over time due to mining, while Ethereum’s has been increasing in line with its demand.
- In terms of long term investment potential and stability, Bitcoin wins out because it’s harder to create new coins on the network and there are fewer available overall (and thus less competition).
Use
- Bitcoin is used as a currency for purchases, whereas Ethereum’s value lies in its use as a platform for smart contracts.
- Bitcoin has wider acceptance as a currency than Ethereum does at present, but this could change in the future if more merchants begin accepting it as payment and people begin using it more frequently to buy goods and services online.
- The larger number of people using a cryptocurrency means that there will be more developers working on improving it–and this means better security measures against hacks and attacks from hackers who try to steal your coins (or “coins”).
Speed
As far as speed, Ethereum transactions are faster. The average time for an Ethereum transaction is 12 seconds, whereas Bitcoin transactions take 10 minutes on average. This makes it easier to send money and conduct businessbusiness with other users in a timely manner.
Ethereum’s speed advantage also comes with lower fees than Bitcoin–it costs $0.05 USD (less than one cent) to send 1 ETH compared with $1 USD per BTC transaction fee! And since Ethereum uses proof-of-work consensus instead of proof-of-stake like Bitcoin does, this means there are fewer miners involved in confirming each block.
This results in even lower fees because there aren’t so many people who have an incentive to compete over who gets rewarded first when processing blocks through their computers’ CPU power alone.
Programming Language
Ethereum is a platform that can run applications, whereas Bitcoin is an application (currency) that runs on the platform.
Ethereum has a Turing programming language, meaning that it can compute anything that a computer can. This is not the case with Bitcoin at this time.
Bitcoin blockchain technology allows for the transfer of currency between users and miners, however, Ethereum uses its own unique abilities to facilitate the code of other things like contracts.
Price
The price of Ethereum is much higher than Bitcoin, but it also comes with a higher risk. So if you’re looking to make a long-term investment in cryptocurrency and want to invest more money in your portfolio, then Ethereum is probably the way to go.
If you’re looking for something that’s safer but still has room for growth over time, then Bitcoin could be a better option for you.
Technology
If you’re looking to invest in a technology with the most potential, Ethereum is your best bet. It has more use cases than bitcoin and can be used to create decentralized applications that run on its blockchain. The Ethereum network has been around longer and has more developers working on it, which means it will likely continue growing at a faster rate than bitcoin over time.
Ethereum also has a better technology than bitcoin because it uses smart contracts instead of just currency transactions like Bitcoin does. Smart contracts allow people who don’t know each other well or trust each other enough (like strangers) to exchange money or assets without having an intermediary like PayPal or VISA take their cut off the top before getting paid out by either party involved in said transaction; this means lower costs for everyone involved!
Bitcoin or Ethereum? Which is a better investment?
If you’re looking for something that is a store of value and a means of exchange, then Bitcoin may be the right choice for you. It’s older than Ethereum and already has a larger market cap—over $12 billion compared to Ethereum’s $2 billion. The technology behind it is also more tested, making it less risky. With that said, many people who start investing in Bitcoin don’t stop there—they also invest in other coins and tokens offered on top of the Bitcoin blockchain.
If you’re more interested in smart contracts and automation capabilities, then Ethereum may be right for you. It’s newer than Bitcoin but has already surpassed it in terms of market cap and popularity. Unlike Bitcoin, Etherium is not only a currency but also a platform for other applications to run on top of it.
Ethereum also has more applications than Bitcoin–and they’re not just limited to finance. They can be used in any industry where trustless transactions are necessary or desirable–for example: supply chains; healthcare record keeping; voting systems; real estate records management etc.
