Which is a better buy: Bitcoin or Ethereum?
The debate between Bitcoin (BTC 0.42%) and Ethereum (ETH 0.26%) as a better investment has been a hot topic in the cryptocurrency community for years. Both are popular and established cryptocurrencies, but there are important differences between them that make Bitcoin a better investment. The reason for this belief can be boiled down to three simple reasons.
Image source: Getty Images.
1. The market value difference
Market value, or “market value,” refers to the total value of a company or asset. In the case of cryptocurrencies, it is calculated by multiplying the total number of coins in circulation by the current market price of each coin. As of April 1, 2023, Bitcoin has a market cap of over $545 billion, while Ethereum’s market cap is just under $220 billion.
What this essentially means is that Bitcoin is currently a more established asset than Ethereum and represents a disproportionate amount of value in the entire crypto asset class. As of today, Bitcoin accounts for more than 45% of all value in crypto.
The higher market value indicates that it has more adoption and more confidence among investors. Additionally, it suggests that Bitcoin is less volatile than Ethereum, as it will require a larger amount of money to move its price significantly.
2. Increasing scarcity
One of the main differences between Bitcoin and Ethereum is their supply. Bitcoin has a hard cap of 21 million coins, meaning that there will never be more than 21 million bitcoins in circulation. Currently, there are about 19.3 million in circulation, with the remaining 1.7 million yet to be mined. Even better, though, these remaining 1.7 million bitcoins will be released at a decreasing rate for the next 117 years until the last bitcoin is mined.
Currently, Bitcoin’s inflation rate is a minuscule 1.7%. Due to the gradual decrease in the frequency of new coins being created, it is estimated that by 2056 this number will fall below 0.1%. By the year 2100, Bitcoin’s inflation rate will be somewhere around 0.000001%. Regardless of the asset, such a low rate of inflation helps ensure that prices are not only maintained, but grow as demand competes for a more limited supply.
Ethereum, on the other hand, has no hard cap. Although it has a mechanism known as burning to remove ether from circulation, there is technically no general limit to the amount of ether that can enter the market. Unlike Bitcoin, this means that Ethereum is subject to unknown levels of inflation, which can reduce the value of each individual coin over time.
3. Decentralization and security
Furthermore, Bitcoin has a stronger track record when it comes to security and decentralization. Bitcoin’s blockchain is the most secure and decentralized of any cryptocurrency, with thousands of nodes and miners around the world helping to verify transactions and maintain the network. This makes it less prone to hacking or manipulation than Ethereum, which has had several high-profile security incidents in the past. In addition, Bitcoin’s decentralized nature means that it is not subject to the same level of centralization or regulation as Ethereum, which has been criticized for being too closely tied to its founders and developers.
Additionally, Bitcoin has a more established and secure network than Ethereum. Bitcoin’s network has operated securely for well over a decade, and its underlying proof-of-work technology has proven to be reliable and resistant to attack. Ethereum, on the other hand, has had some security issues in the past, including a major hack in 2016 that resulted in the loss of millions of dollars worth of ether. While Ethereum’s security has improved over time, it still lags behind Bitcoin in terms of reliability and security.
Keep it simple
While Ethereum may deserve a place in your portfolio, Bitcoin provides investors with a safer and more reliable alternative. The biggest advantage Bitcoin has over Ethereum is probably its simplicity. Bitcoin’s value proposition is clear and easy to understand: it is a highly decentralized and secure digital store of value that provides holders with trustworthiness.
Ethereum, on the other hand, has a more complex value proposition that is tied to smart contract functionality and decentralized applications. While this complexity may be appealing to some investors, it also makes Ethereum more difficult to understand and evaluate as an investment, as many of these use cases are in their infancy.
For investors who want to keep it simple and want to invest in cryptocurrency, look no further than the original digital asset, Bitcoin.
