How is Bitcoin different from Etherium?
I have seen many questions on this matter around Bitcointalk, so I thought that this would be useful as a source. Hope you enjoy and don’t forget to say “thanks”.
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So let’s start off with the question “What are Bitcoin and Etherium?”. Well, they are cryptocurrencies, based on the blockchain. So what makes Bitcoin and Etherium so different, if they are based on the same system?
Bitcoin
Bitcoin is often defined as the “digital gold” and that is for a reason. It had been one of the first cryptocurrencies to appear and this makes it such a popular coin nowadays. It can be defined as the dollar of the blockchain, as it is only a payment method. It can not be described as an innovative and mind-blowing technology, although it is very useful itself, it is just your money, held in a digital form. Bitcoin can be used for multiple purposes, one of them is inviting in ICOs (Initial Coin Offering). Once you support an ICO, they give you their tokens, which can be compared to stocks, which grow with the company, although are dependent on the price of Bitcoin and the market in general. Some other purposes are investing and basic payments, which are getting more and more popular nowadays.
Etherium
Etherium, on the other hand, is defined as the “digital petroleum”. It had been launched at the beginning of the crypto market development, and many people see it overtaking Bitcoin in future due to it’s flexibility. Of course, it is priced lower than Bitcoin as it had entered the market way later, but that does not deny it’s usefulness when it comes to innovations. Shortly speaking, where Bitcoin is just a currency, Etherium is a platform for other applications to host and grow at. It is so “open-minded” as a platform, that you could build anything on it, starting from 3D printing to traveling network management. And that is the quality that allowed Etherium to enter the big market: it occupies a different area rather than Bitcoin, therefore serves for different purposes.
Conclusion
For me, as an investor, Etherium poses a bigger personal interest than Bitcoin, but it is pretty clear that at least for the next year bitcoin will be the leading currency in the crypto market. That is also because most of the people nowadays are familiar with Bitcoin, but have heard nothing of Etherium. But if you are looking for a long term investment, Etherium might be your solution.
Fom what I know, Ethereum is another cryptocurrency, and one many people see as potentially overtaking Bitcoin as the dominant coin in the market. ... The difference between Ethereum and Bitcoin is the fact that Bitcoin is nothing more than a currency, whereas Ethereum is a ledger technology that companies are using to build new programs