Is the debate on Bitcoin vs Ethereum valid?

Bitcoin and Ethereum is one of the most bewitching debate topics across the cryptosphere. Both are the two most popular cryptocurrency projects in the industry. Although the two blockchains are completely different from each other, many believe that they are competitors. It is significant to comprehend that both the blockchains have their own utility. In contrast, where the flagship crypto coin is considered as a digital gold, Ether is deemed as an entire digital universe. However, there is one similarity that both the projects have blockchain technology at their core and both of them are creating a value layer for today’s internet.

Fundamentals of the flagship cryptocurrency

Established in 2009, Bitcoin has introduced a novel idea set out in a whitepaper by the pseudonymous Satoshi Nakamoto. With the concept of the decentralized Peer-to-Peer payments infrastructure the world also received the millennial blockchain technology.

Unlike fiat currencies that are issued by the governments across the globe, the coin designed by Satoshi promised to be an online currency that is secured without any centralized authority.

Indeed, there are no physical coins, only balances that are associated on a transparent cryptographic distributed public ledger. However, it is notable that BTC is not the first attempt to create such an online currency. But we can say BTC is one of the most successful projects which is now known as a predecessor of all the crypto available across the globe.

Since the inception of the leading cryptocurrency, the concept of virtualization and decentralization has gained acceptance among regulatory agencies. Moreover, BTC has managed to carve out a niche for itself and co-exist with the financial system.

Amid the global outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic, the value of fiat was declining due to stimulus injections, at the time BTC proved its nature of being a safe haven and the best store of value. El Salvador’s legalization of the digital asset then showed that BTC can be formally recognized as a medium of payment.

Fundamentals of Ether

As the Bitcoin spree began, developers and coders across the world started to scrutinize the blockchain technology and create applications that go beyond just enabling digital currency. At the time, Ethereum, the second largest crypto asset was introduced as an open-ended decentralized software platform.

The blockchain allowed developers to deploy smart contracts and decentralized applications (dApps). On Ether, developers could create and run their projects without any downtime, fraud, control, or interference from a third party. The project came with its own programming language that runs on blockchain.

Notably, all the potential projects built on Ether are wide-ranging and powered by its native cryptocurrency ETH. Indeed, currently, we can deem Ethereum as the fuel for running commands on the Ether platform. Moreover, the blockchain is used by developers to build and run applications on the platform.

In the current scenario, the cryptocurrency is mainly used for a couple of purposes. Either ETH is traded as a digital currency on exchange platforms. Or is used on the blockchain network to run applications. Indeed, the crypto coin could be either considered as a store of value or as collateral.

Main point of distinction

Bitcoin on the first hand is currently limited to payments and it is scarce as its total supply is capped to 21 million coins. On the other hand, Ethereum can be witnessed taking the blockchain ecosystem a step ahead. Ether adds a computer to the value layer and helps disrupt traditional financial functions with code.

Simultaneously, Bitcoin is considered as digital gold as it is the very first crypto asset which currently has no competitors. According to data from CoinMarketCap, Bitcoin is the largest cryptocurrency in terms of market capitalization, whereas Ethereum is the second largest digital asset.

However, if we consider the value of both the assets, we can witness that ETH is less than half of BTC. Moreover, it is noteworthy that the total supply cap of BTC is fixed where ETH has an unlimited supply cap. Although Ethereum has no competition with BTC, it is considered as digital Silver, as the project also has a variety of applications like the precious metal.

BTC and ETH are both significant for the industry

Bitcoin vs Ethereum is not a valid point of distinction, rather the individuals in the cryptosphere should comprehend that both the projects have their own utility. Following the aforementioned fundamentals the facts lead to a deeper discussion of what the underlying technology can do to enhance every aspect of our lives. If we look at the future of everything from finance to jurisdiction, we can consider that both BTC and ETH are likely to play a bigger role.

The world should essentially understand that both the blockchains are fundamentally different ideas. BTC is a store of value and medium of payments, whereas ETH is a decentralized platform to host applications. The backbone of both the projects are the same, and both of them make sure that we do not rely on providing our precious data to make transactions.

Indeed, BTC is designed only to be an alternative to traditional currencies and hence a medium of exchange and store of value. Meanwhile, Ether is designed only to be a programmable network that finds applications in numerous areas that includes decentralized finance (DeFi), smart contracts, and Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs).

Although both the blockchain projects may be little to really compare, many experts in the cryptosphere believe that there will be a huge comparison to life before and after the mainstream acceptance of Bitcoin and Ethereum.