Ethereum is currently recognized as the No. 2 digital coins behind bitcoin, having a market capitalization of more than $245 billion.
While bitcoin maximalists might be right in believing that bitcoin is the best cryptocurrency ever made, it is undeniable that ethereum has quickly gained popularity and new investors seem to be getting into the altcoin.
Some industry players believe that this is probably because these people think they missed the boat on bitcoin and since ethereum is cheaper, they could make more from it.
Bitcoin still leads
Despite its recent series of slumps, bitcoin still remains higher in terms of price. According to data from CoinGecko, at the time of writing, the leading cryptocurrency trades at $34,400. Meanwhile, ethereum is changing hands at $2,093.
In terms of gains, however, the altcoin leader has surpassed the crypto alpha. Bitcoin only managed to grow by 245% in one year. Ethereum, on the other hand, rose by 730%, almost thrice that of bitcoin.
This is one of the explanations behind investors putting more money in ethereum. With this, they expect they will get more returns through the altcoin.
Market capitalization-wise, bitcoin, with its little over $1 trillion cap, leads the entire crypto space.
Comparing blockchain networks
Major differences are observed when comparing the blockchain networks of the two cryptocurrencies.
While the bitcoin blockchain is basically a database of accounts, acting as a ledger, ethereum network is much more sophisticated and things that are possible with it cannot be done with that of bitcoin.
Ethereum’s blockchain is able to store computer code, allowing it to deal with smart contracts which are basically an agreement written in code.
Ethereum is also moving from proof of work to proof of stake consensus mechanism. This would mean consuming significantly less power compared to bitcoin.
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