Ethereum vs. Bitcoin: Crypto Market Trends & Future Outlook

Ether recently hit new records in its value, will it overtake Bitcoin?

Recently, a relatively new cryptocurrency soared by hitting record heights in value. Ether, the native cryptocurrency of the Ethereum platform, reached USD3,500 on May 6th. The market cap of Ethereum reached USD375.13 billion compared to 22.9 billion last year. Does this mean that Ethreum is going to gain supremacy over Bitcoin?

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Bitcoin vs Ether

Bitcoin is still the largest digital currency, followed by Ethereum being the second-largest in the world. Bitcoin has always been the center of attraction and has maintained supremacy over other digital currencies all these years. Once cryptocurrency and blockchain technology was introduced, bitcoin became the most valued digital currency because of its peer-to-peer transaction facility. Bitcoin can be transferred over the internet through a decentralized, transparent network that eliminates the need for a centralized authority like banks.

Launched in 2009, Bitcoin and those engaging in the trade of this crypto through a distributed ledger system do not have to establish trust in each other for smooth transactions. Another reason for its popularity is the less risk of fraud involved, the ease, and the minimum transaction fee. Bitcoins have a market cap of more than USD1 trillion and it has a growing number of institutional investors. Recently, Elon Musk’s Tesla invested USD1.5 billion into Bitcoin making its value soar high. Other companies include Square, MicroStrategy, and many more.

Ether on the other hand is the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency today. Ether enables smart contracts that are faster, resilient, and better than other digital currencies. It also has Decentralized Finance (DeFi) characteristics with high scalability, which makes it desirable among businesses. The recent proliferation of Ethereum has made its Co-founder, Vitalik Buterin, the youngest billionaire. Ethereum is an open-source, blockchain-based platform, which also allows building applications with its programming languages. Unlike the peer-to-peer network of Bitcoins, Ethereum offers the transfer and development of Non-Fungible Tokens (NFT), which can be uniquely processed and transferred by individual users. With a current market cap of more than USD397 billion, Ethereum is being largely adopted. Ethereum has been shining bright since mid-last year.

Where is Crypto Headed?

The crypto market is always volatile with fluctuating prices and values. Hence, it is always advised to be careful while investing in cryptocurrencies, be it Bitcoin or Ether. However, many new cryptocurrencies are popping up every day. Some popularly known cryptocurrencies are Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, Dogecoin, Ripple, and Zcash (XRP).

Although blockchain was initially recognized with crypto, it has now expanded its capabilities. Thus, crypto use cases will continue to diversify and there will be a growing number of crypto assets and investments. India recently passed a new bill stating the regulations in cryptocurrency trading in the country. The country has not legally banned cryptocurrencies, but it also does not work in favor of it.

There has been an increased institutional interest in cryptocurrency investments. There is no surety in the consistent growth of cryptocurrencies, but it is not going to vanish soon. The underlying technology behind cryptocurrency, blockchain, has gained wide popularity and will see more use cases and industry-wide adoption.