TL;DR Breakdown
- Ethereum could be the next big currency from the crypto-sphere.
- ETH is expected to yield a better return on investment (ROI).
- Bitcoin is becoming an institutional asset and ETH is likely to dominate as a currency.
A power struggle has ensued between Bitcoin, the king of cryptocurrencies, and Ethereum, the queen, as both fight to decide which one of them is better suited for the throne.
Bitcoin – the pioneer cryptocurrency – was intended to be a digital currency by the developer. The main purpose of the cryptocurrency was to serve as a medium of exchange. However, Bitcoin has not been able to fulfill its purpose, and its functionalities have proved to be hurdles in it becoming the digital currency. This had led to speculation about other cryptocurrencies that would serve as a digital currency.
Although Bitcoin, one of the most widely opted-for cryptocurrencies, sits at the top of the market, users have started looking for something else to fulfill the purpose that Bitcoin was originally incepted. Bitcoin is still one of the most well-known cryptocurrencies, and it may very well remain to stay that way. However, not as a digital currency.
Data shows that Bitcoin is turning more into an investment asset than a digital currency. Research conducted found that a third of Bitcoin is currently being held for investment purposes – as an asset – while only a small number of users, as well as a small amount of Bitcoin, is being utilized to facilitate transactions.
One of the major flaws of Bitcoin is its speed or lack thereof. Currencies were created to facilitate exchange and make them more convenient. But one transaction through Bitcoin takes around 10 minutes to be verified. Another problem that the king of cryptocurrencies is facing is its inability to scale.
Who other is better suited to replace Bitcoin than the market’s own queen, Ethereum? Ethereum has ranked second in the cryptocurrency market for quite some time, and when people start looking for the next market leader, ETH will seem like a viable option more than ever. ETH, with a market capitalization of $100 million, has been the most sought-after cryptocurrency, second only to Bitcoin.
Ethereum vs Bitcoin: Return on Investment
Ethereum currently has around $21 billion locked in the cryptocurrency in the form of decentralized apps and smart contracts. This staggering sum cannot be touched, which means that it has locked Ethereum’s value for the future, which can only be expected to rise. The future is decentralized finance and dApps, and Ethereum is synonymous.
ETH, being one of the original cryptocurrencies, has problems of its own, but the developers have planned to reduce most of the cryptocurrency problems with the 2.0 upgrade. Some of the new upgrade features include abandoning the proof-of-work system and introducing sharding to increase the cryptocurrency’s efficiency.
ETH has far greater potential to grow than Bitcoin. Per a study published in Economist, the 5-year predicted annual growth rate for Ethereum would be 136.5 percent, whereas that of Bitcoin will be just 10 percent. They further predicted that if Ethereum achieves its goals of technological advances, it would be able to result in the cutting of Bitcoin’s market capitalization in half. Furthermore, in five years, Ethereum is expected to have a price of $868.52, with Bitcoin at $988.74.
Such studies may seem far from reality there is something for sure, even if the queen may not be able to complete with BTC in sheer value it is very likely to surpass the king as a currency.
