Even though you may not have subscribed to Bitcoin pages, your Facebook feed is probably full of Bitcoin stories. You might even be one of those who deeply regrets not buying Bitcoins earlier after knowing about their exponential price rise. But, should you just regret? Or would it be better to shift your focus towards an option that has the potential of providing an interest comparable to Bitcoins?
Along with Bitcoin, many more crypto assets have come into the picture. Ethereum is one of them. But what makes Ethereum so different and why should you buy it instead of some other crypto asset?
What is Ethereum?
Ethereum is being perceived as the second biggest crypto asset of 2018, after Bitcoin. With Bitcoin prices skyrocketing, it has become difficult for people to invest in Bitcoins and hence they are looking out for more avenues.
Ethereum is a crypto asset similar to Bitcoin, which emerged in early 2014. It was developed by Vitalik Buterin, a Russian computer scientist and has gained huge popularity. The Ethereum project website defines Ethereum as, “a decentralised platform that runs smart contracts: applications that run exactly as programmed without any possibility of downtime, censorship, fraud or third party interference.” Smart contracts are applications written in a programming language called Solidity. The platform’s token is known as “Ether” which helps in the working of these apps.
Ethereum vs Bitcoin
Ethereum and Bitcoin are same in the way that they make use of the blockchain technology to function, which makes them highly secure in comparison to normal currencies. Being precise, Ethereum is not just some other crypto asset. It is actually a decentralised platform in which smart contracts (the decentralised applications) are built. Running them makes use of the token Ether. This means that there can be myriad uses of Ethereum apart from treating it as a currency.
Here are some technical differences between the two
- Both have different transaction times. Ethereum makes use of Ghost Protocol due to which one block time for Ethereum is about 14 seconds whereas block time for Bitcoin is approximately 10 minutes.
- It is said that only half of total Ether will be mined by its fifth year of existence. On the other hand, two-thirds of Bitcoin has already been mined.
- The method of costing transactions in Ethereum is called Gas and it depends on the transaction’s complexity, storage, and bandwidth usage. In case of Bitcoin, the block size limits the transactions.
- Ethereum tends to be more flexible than Bitcoin due to Turing complete internal code.
- Bitcoin rewards half after every 4 years. In case of Ether, the reward is constant (5 Ether per block).
Why Ethereum?
So the question here is that why should you invest in Ethereum? Investing in crypto assets is something that is trending currently because of the unimaginable level of profit it is creating for people and for some time it will continue doing so. Maybe years down the road they become obsolete, but that is something that can’t be said. Ethereum is the younger brother of Bitcoin and it is expected to rise to a great height just like Bitcoin did.
Plus a major advantage of Ethereum over Bitcoin is the high level of security it provides. The shared blockchain (smart contracts) structure has reduced chances of fraud to a minimum. Many people even believe that the top position being held by Bitcoin is soon going to shift and the crown will sit on Ether’s head. Bitcoin will still remain one of the best crypto asset and will always be a desirable investment option but maybe it stabilises a little in the long run. Here comes Ethereum which is the “next big thing”. The Ethereum Enterprise Alliance involves major companies building applications for the platform.
- Smart contracts ease the process of transacting. One doesn’t really need to rely on middlemen for buying desired products. Valuable things can be exchanged with minimal risk since the contract will be recorded in its database.
- A microblogging service called Eth-tweet is under construction. It will be a decentralised service in which whatever is posted once cannot be altered or deleted by anyone except the publisher.
- In future, it could also be used in elections. There is always a debate on the authenticity of elections. Since this platform is such that it will record all the votes polled and there is an absence of any supervising authority, it automatically becomes a completely authentic option.
- There is another project under construction called Etheria — a virtual world game. Players will get to own tiles and will be able to build things and earn blocks by farming them. And of course, Etheria cannot be interfered with by any authority since it will be decentralised.
Basically, Ethereum can prove to be a boon in any industry where data needs to be recorded and all these applications will be connected by Ethereum’s token, Ether. As for its token — ether is being seen as a great investment option. Its value has seen a distinct rise in 2017 — nearly 10,000% with much more is expected in 2018.
Also Read:
https://blog.unocoin.com/bitcoin-vs-ethereum-whats-the-difference-9faf52483031