It is no doubt that Bitcoin and Ethereum are two major players in the crypto world. These two coins have a long history of small developments that led them to become the top coins. Both of them currently have many applications and acceptance in different parts of society. Bitcoin, being the first in its type of asset has risen gradually and immensely. Many other cryptocurrencies or as we say altcoins followed their footsteps but are still quite far. However, one of the altcoins that have made a wide impact in the crypto markets is Ethereum. In this article, we will try to compare and discuss Bitcoin and Ethereum on a set of factors that contribute to their potential. It will help us understand their investing opportunities, current drawbacks, future, and much more. We will try to understand which is a better buy in 2022: Bitcoin or Ethereum?

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• Price History Of Bitcoin And Ethereum
• Some factors before deciding between Bitcoin or Ethereum
  • Acceptance and Adoption in Society
  • Energy Issues
  • Regulatory Issues
  • Transaction Fees
• Future Potential and Updates
• Bottom Lines
• Related Articles

Bitcoin was launched in 2009 and the first bitcoin was transacted that same year. We could buy a bitcoin for less than a cent. Bitcoin hit an all-time high on November 20, 2021, with a value of $68,970. Ethereum was launched in 2015 and had a value of less than $3. The all-time high reached was $4891 in November 2021. Both Bitcoin and Ethereum rose well spanning their wings wide across the crypto space.

Price History Of Bitcoin And Ethereum

If we also observe the price history of Bitcoin and Ethereum, we can observe the following pointers:

Some Factors Before Deciding Between Bitcoin Or Ethereum

If we talk about the similarities between Bitcoin and Ethereum, the list is too short! Both coins are developed with different intentions and aim to serve the people. We can list various domains in which both coins are received differently.

Let us consider a few factors that would help us realize their current and future potential.

1. Acceptance And Adoption In Society

Both Bitcoin and Ethereum are seen widely accepted in various fields and domains. There is not a measurable metric that can identify or formulate their acceptance in the current society. However, there are certain occurrences in professional and personal space where these two coins leave marks differently.

Bitcoin is used now by the top major companies in their holdings. The companies are listing and holding BTC in their official balance sheets and official contracts. ETC is also widely accepted but not by the major companies in terms of number or relevance.

Bitcoin is also relevant to consumers in different ways. There are a number of methods to earn free cryptocurrencies where Bitcoin is widely preferred as compared to Ethereum. Even the Bitcoin ATMs are the first ones to be established in various countries. Although many such ATMs allow the transactions of Ethereum, they were developed with the sole purpose of BTC transactions.

Bitcoin also gets the advantage of being the first mover in the crypto world.

2. Energy Issues

We know that mining any cryptocurrency is a hardware-driven process resulting in huge amounts of energy consumption. Both Bitcoin and Ethereum have their share of energy levels affecting the environment. On a yearly basis, Bitcoin uses around 177.43 TWh of electricity. On the contrary, Ethereum uses around 79.69 TWh yearly.

As Ethereum is shifting towards Ethereum 2.0 upgrade, it makes it a better option for long-term investment. Bitcoin may gain other in other metrics but environment friendly and a greener option like Ethereum is preferred. Moreover, the same preference is bound to be followed by crypto enthusiasts.

3. Regulatory Issues

Like all cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin and Ethereum also face a lot of complications related to legal regulations. Countries like China have banned all cryptocurrencies. One more reason is to influence and promote their own in-process digital currency, Yuan. Some countries have legalized Bitcoin and Ethereum and many are still stuck with old regulations. The future of regulations will depend a lot on the applications of Bitcoin and Ethereum. In such a scenario, Ethereum can have an upper edge due to Ethereum 2.0 and the wide number of platforms it supports.

4. Transaction Fees

Every cryptocurrency exchange may charge a transaction fee along with a fee associated with the coin itself. Bitcoin is a little slow in the number of transactions per second. But it offers a low transaction fee as compared to Ethereum. The transaction fee in Ethereum, termed as the Gas Fee is quite high. Such high fees can be intolerable or impractical when it comes to small transactions. However, Ethereum may outperform Bitcoin owing to Ethereum 2.0 upgrades that tend to eliminate this issue.

Future Potential And Updates

Both Bitcoin and Ethereum have appealed to the masses since their inception. If we observe closely, Bitcoin has been taking advantage of the first mover concept. It has no large-scale application other than being a store of value. A mode of exchange is only what Bitcoin fulfills. However, Ethereum on the contrary is an entirely new space. It brings out limitless possibilities. Some of them are Decentralized Finance, NFTs, apps built on Ethereum, and even the issue of other cryptocurrencies. Investing in any asset is like bridging the gap between the present and the future. As per experts, Ethereum will have an upper edge in the coming years due to its high applicability.

Bottom Lines

• ETH has limitless possibilities in the future. It is also at the forefront of a wide number of applications and platforms.
• BTC may be leading in terms of acceptance and market cap, but it may lag in the coming years due to limited applications.
• Ethereum 2.0 aims to address issues in the current Ethereum network. Thus, preparing itself for the future. We see fewer upgrades for Bitcoin.
• BTC is the first crypto, but ETH is the first crypto to provide capabilities other than just being a store of value.
• Both Bitcoin and Ethereum are must-own for anyone who is investing in cryptocurrencies. But considering the rapid - changes in ETH, it is quite promising for long-term investing.

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