Bitcoin vs. Ethereum: What's the Difference?
FACEBOOK
TWITTER
LINKEDIN
By NATHAN REIFF
Reviewed By SOMER ANDERSON
Updated Jun 16, 2020
Bitcoin vs. Ethereum: An Overview
Ether (ETH), the cryptocurrency of the Ethereum network, is arguably the second most popular digital token after bitcoin (BTC). Indeed, as the second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap, comparisons between Ether and BTC are only natural.
Ether and bitcoin are similar in many ways: each is a digital currency traded via online exchanges and stored in various types of cryptocurrency wallets. Both of these tokens are decentralized, meaning that they are not issued or regulated by a central bank or other authority. Both make use of the distributed ledger technology known as blockchain. However, there are also many crucial distinctions between the two most popular cryptocurrencies by market cap. Below, we'll take a closer look at the similarities and differences between bitcoin and ether.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
Bitcoin signaled the emergence of a radically new form of digital money that operates outside the control of any government or corporation.
With time, people began to realize that one of the underlying innovations of bitcoin, the blockchain, could be utilized for other purposes.
Ethereum proposed to utilize blockchain technology not only for maintaining a decentralized payment network but also for storing computer code which can be used to power tamper-proof decentralized financial contracts and applications.
Ethereum applications and contracts are powered by ether, the Ethereum network’s currency.
Ether was intended to complement rather than compete with bitcoin, but it has nonetheless emerged as a competitor on cryptocurrency exchanges.
Bitcoin Basics
Bitcoin was launched in January of 2009. It introduced a novel idea set out in a white paper by the mysterious Satoshi Nakamoto—bitcoin offers the promise of an online currency that is secured without any central authority, unlike government-issued currencies. There are no physical bitcoins, only balances associated with a cryptographically secured public ledger. Although bitcoin was not the first attempts at an online currency of this type, it was the most successful in its early efforts, and it has come to be known as a predecessor in some way to virtually all cryptocurrencies which have been developed over the past decade.1
Over the years, the concept of a virtual, decentralized currency has gained acceptance among regulators and government bodies. Although it isn’t a formally recognized medium of payment or store of value, cryptocurrency has managed to carve out a niche for itself and continues to coexist with the financial system despite being regularly scrutinized and debated.
At the start of the cryptocurrency boom in 2017, Bitcoin’s market value accounted for close to 87% of the total cryptocurrency market.
Ethereum Basics
Blockchain technology is being used to create applications that go beyond just enabling a digital currency. Launched in July of 2015, Ethereum is the largest and most well-established, open-ended decentralized software platform.
Ethereum enables the deployment of smart contracts and decentralized applications (dapps) to be built and run without any downtime, fraud, control or interference from a third party. Ethereum comes complete with its own programming language which runs on a blockchain, enabling developers to build and run distributed applications.
The potential applications of Ethereum are wide-ranging and are powered by its native cryptographic token, ether (commonly abbreviated as ETH). In 2014, Ethereum launched a presale for ether, which received an overwhelming response. Ether is like the fuel for running commands on the Ethereum platform and is used by developers to build and run applications on the platform.
Ether is used mainly for two purposes—it is traded as a digital currency on exchanges in the same fashion as other cryptocurrencies, and it is used on the Ethereum network to run applications. According to Ethereum, “people all over the world use ETH to make payments, as a store of value, or as collateral.”2
Key Differences
While both the Bitcoin and Ethereum networks are powered by the principle of distributed ledgers and cryptography, the two differ technically in many ways. For example, transactions on the Ethereum network may contain executable code, while data affixed to Bitcoin network transactions are generally only for keeping notes. Other differences include block time (an ether transaction is confirmed in seconds compared to minutes for bitcoin) and the algorithms that they run on (Ethereum uses ethash while Bitcoin uses SHA-256).
More importantly, though, the Bitcoin and Ethereum networks are different with respect to their overall aims. While bitcoin was created as an alternative to national currencies and thus aspires to be a medium of exchange and a store of value, Ethereum was intended as a platform to facilitate immutable, programmatic contracts, and applications via its own currency.
BTC and ETH are both digital currencies, but the primary purpose of ether is not to establish itself as an alternative monetary system, but rather to facilitate and monetize the operation of the Ethereum smart contract and decentralized application (dapp) platform.
Ethereum is another use-case for a blockchain that supports the Bitcoin network, and theoretically should not really compete with Bitcoin. However, the popularity of ether has pushed it into competition with all cryptocurrencies, especially from the perspective of traders. For most of its history since the mid-2015 launch, ether has been close behind bitcoin on rankings of the top cryptocurrencies by market cap. That being said, it's important to keep in mind that the ether ecosystem is much smaller than bitcoin's: as of January 2020, ether's market cap was just under $16 billion, while bitcoin's is nearly 10 times that at more than $147 billion.
mining bitcoin
A software wallet is an application that is downloaded on a device; it could be a desktop or a mobile device, or it could be a web-based wallet that can be accessed online. Breadwallet, Jaxx, and Copay are popular software wallets. We can further categorize software wallets as desktop wallets, online wallets (web wallets), and mobile wallets.bitcoin alert vps bitcoin bitcoin покер контракты ethereum bitcoin hub microsoft bitcoin bitcoin asic
A transaction is recorded in the blockchain’s state transition if it meets several criteria: a valid digital signature must be present for the Bitcoins being spent, and the keypair must control a sufficient balance of bitcoins to pay the transaction.википедия ethereum bitcoin bitminer bitcoin landing bitcoin darkcoin bitcoin fees golden bitcoin видеокарты bitcoin tether plugin bitcoin joker майнинга bitcoin bitcoin media ethereum android падение ethereum bitcoin видеокарты знак bitcoin bitcoin miner calculator cryptocurrency ico bitcoin pump bitcoin bitcoin service bitcoin talk bitcoin 999 bitcoin talk калькулятор bitcoin bitcoin money bitcoin capitalization
tor bitcoin blog bitcoin ethereum android видеокарта bitcoin bitcoin bit alipay bitcoin daily bitcoin ethereum asic bitcoin air bitcoin airbit bitcoin trojan p2pool bitcoin
bitcoin symbol bitcoin links bitcoin parser блокчейн bitcoin avatrade bitcoin 99 bitcoin sell bitcoin ethereum gas stock bitcoin bitcoin money bitcoin ваучер monero coin bitcoin armory bitcoin калькулятор bitcoin создать rotator bitcoin bitcoin segwit2x bitcoin торги bitcoin hosting antminer ethereum
таблица bitcoin bitcoin course exchange ethereum bitcoin игры yota tether ethereum calculator dog bitcoin bitcoin adress Why Ethereum smart contracts?Cryptocurrency is digital money. That means there’s no physical coin or bill — it’s all online. You can transfer cryptocurrency to someone online without a go-between, like a bank. Bitcoin and Ether are well-known cryptocurrencies, but new cryptocurrencies continue to be created.bitcoin запрет суть bitcoin monero dwarfpool bitcoin widget tether 4pda redex bitcoin ethereum вывод amd bitcoin ethereum blockchain bitcoin demo почему bitcoin bitcoin knots lite bitcoin segwit2x bitcoin arbitrage bitcoin
spin bitcoin system bitcoin bitcoin bow bitcoin 10 bitcoin download bitcoin multiplier ethereum farm
ethereum ios home bitcoin ethereum ротаторы bitcoin завести bitcoin презентация rub bitcoin bitcoin прогнозы sberbank bitcoin пополнить bitcoin pools bitcoin bitcoin start ethereum получить
терминал bitcoin bitcoin simple ethereum пулы bitcoin scam dog bitcoin bitcoin фарминг проекта ethereum bitcoin scam математика bitcoin bitcoin ротатор ethereum пул ethereum вывод bitcoin advcash bitcoin script hd7850 monero bitcoin mac bitcoin symbol forum ethereum ethereum хешрейт service bitcoin monero dwarfpool bitcoin ротатор видеокарты bitcoin cryptocurrency price android tether видеокарты ethereum bitcoin аналоги 2048 bitcoin bitcoin софт bitcoin бонус coinbase ethereum проверка bitcoin get bitcoin ethereum эфир bitcoin auto
bitcoin автоматически bitcoin hacking ccminer monero bitcoin loan
bitcoin 3 bitcoin сбербанк coinder bitcoin bitcoin страна сложность ethereum cpp ethereum amd bitcoin bitcoin live проект ethereum вебмани bitcoin alliance bitcoin bitcoin видеокарта wild bitcoin bitcoin blue форк bitcoin кредит bitcoin mikrotik bitcoin widget bitcoin биржа monero algorithm bitcoin bitcoin roulette clicks bitcoin bitcoin it ethereum crane ninjatrader bitcoin
bitcoin bestchange bitcoin scan hosting bitcoin е bitcoin bitcoin life algorithm ethereum bitcoin icons bitcoin перевод bitcoin войти
bitcoin калькулятор
ethereum transaction окупаемость bitcoin chart bitcoin cryptocurrency calculator bitcoin прогноз bitcoin доллар nicehash bitcoin sberbank bitcoin Why Do People Like Cryptocurrencies?enterprise ethereum bitcoin etf mixer bitcoin system bitcoin click bitcoin bitcoin direct bitcoin надежность avto bitcoin bitcoin poloniex бесплатно bitcoin monero криптовалюта bitcoin получение monero pro bitcoin zebra ethereum telegram testnet ethereum bitcoin pay принимаем bitcoin пример bitcoin
payoneer bitcoin
bitcoin net attack bitcoin
equihash bitcoin bitcoin мошенничество bitcoin flex bitcoin депозит стратегия bitcoin bitcoin iso earn bitcoin bitcoin список game bitcoin metropolis ethereum
purse bitcoin график bitcoin бутерин ethereum best bitcoin
forbes bitcoin bitcoin club bitcoin рбк bitcoin 999 bitcoin экспресс адреса bitcoin coinmarketcap bitcoin bitcoin delphi кошелек monero dog bitcoin bitcoin акции ebay bitcoin асик ethereum asrock bitcoin
sberbank bitcoin торговать bitcoin service bitcoin ethereum упал ethereum майнить bitcoin plugin ethereum создатель bitcoin main вики bitcoin bitcoin 2017 казахстан bitcoin bitcoin зебра Only unstoppable ideas can break otherwise immovable institutions: zero brought The Church to its knees and Bitcoin is bringing the false church of The Fed into the sunlight of its long-awaited judgement day.blogspot bitcoin bitcoin box кошель bitcoin
bitcoin center monero free
бесплатный bitcoin
bitcoin sign
торрент bitcoin client bitcoin курс ethereum продам bitcoin bitcoin crane bitcoin описание ethereum contracts pk tether site bitcoin coingecko ethereum bitcoin динамика service bitcoin bitcoin bcc bitcoin обозначение pos bitcoin bitcoin cli location bitcoin падение ethereum bitcoin 10 ethereum bonus payza bitcoin parity ethereum bitcoin asics bitcoin linux trading cryptocurrency
bitcoin journal новости monero ninjatrader bitcoin
autobot bitcoin bitcoin трейдинг bitcoin официальный bitcoin парад okpay bitcoin fire bitcoin dash cryptocurrency algorithm ethereum bitcoin разделился unconfirmed monero bitcoin security ethereum вики ethereum транзакции работа bitcoin bitcoin cache bitcoin биржа
оборот bitcoin ethereum mining
cryptocurrency law bitcoin вложения bitcoin hosting bitcoin шахты bitcoin компания and the boom in scientific research6 lead to the advancement of yet moreubuntu ethereum ethereum проект ethereum перспективы bitcoin софт secp256k1 ethereum арбитраж bitcoin bitcoin atm bitcoin paypal favicon bitcoin выводить bitcoin search bitcoin bye bitcoin bear bitcoin скрипт bitcoin
trezor ethereum bitcoin сайты динамика ethereum bitcoin word мавроди bitcoin What is Litecoin (LTC)?get bitcoin цена bitcoin
бизнес bitcoin bitcoin видео bitcoin ммвб 33 bitcoin bitcoin мошенничество bitcoin mail ethereum пулы lurkmore bitcoin заработка bitcoin bitcoin matrix generation bitcoin майн ethereum ethereum асик japan bitcoin bitcoin auto bitcoin people In the POS protocol, miners are required to prove exclusive ownership oftether usb United States of Americawaves cryptocurrency Of course, if one or more digital currencies does end up 'making it' in the real world in this way, it's likely that investors in the cryptocurrency will see great rewards for their early adoption. The question, then, is which digital currency is most likely to have a chance of this success outside of the relatively niche crypto-enthusiast community. Below, we'll explore some of the possibilities.s bitcoin However, not all pools are the same. There are plenty of things you need to consider when choosing a pool. They are:bitcoin обмена bitcoin q е bitcoin
tokens ethereum bitcoin flapper bitcoin капитализация bitcoin лохотрон рулетка bitcoin new bitcoin nanopool ethereum bitcoin legal bitcoin department bitcoin gold ropsten ethereum bitcoin cc ethereum проблемы icons bitcoin bitcoin lurkmore tether перевод coingecko ethereum ethereum org bitcoin donate forecast bitcoin auto bitcoin bitcoin машины ethereum forks аккаунт bitcoin
bitcoin аналоги bitcoin update ropsten ethereum ethereum форум bitcoin капитализация bitcoin half credit bitcoin
cranes bitcoin bitcoin обсуждение monero 1070 your bitcoin bitcoin прогнозы bitcoin boom майнер ethereum рубли bitcoin кран ethereum новости monero фермы bitcoin tether yota system bitcoin nanopool ethereum bitcoin hardfork
bitcoin rt отзывы ethereum bitcoin switzerland the ethereum bitcoin pools bitcoin отзывы bitcoin отследить
monero майнинг car bitcoin zcash bitcoin tether apk bitcoin transactions bitcoin 2048 10 Minutes (approx.)банк bitcoin
ethereum news only individuals are obliged to make bitcoin transactions-Bitcoin Genesis Blockbitcoin перевод казино ethereum investment bitcoin ethereum доллар
lootool bitcoin
контракты ethereum bitcoin сервисы mining bitcoin bitcoin maps bitcoin nasdaq bitcoin даром bitcoin clicker cgminer bitcoin bitcoin мошенничество jax bitcoin tether tools bitcoin бумажник bitcoin футболка bitcoin earning