Ethereum Vs Bitcoin: Functionality Pro's and Con's

[Nowler]

Hey folks,

I know very little about Ethereum or Bitcoin, so would appreciate a bit of help from those of you that do.

Apart from it's price and general popularity, which is better in terms of over all function?
What are the Pro's and Con's to each?

It is my understanding that Ethereum was not created to compete with Bitcoin, but rather to compliment it.
It is also my understanding that Ethereum has more applications than what Bitcoin.

So if this is the case, shouldn't the price of Ethereum be higher than Bitcoin? (if it does the same & more)

Thanks in advance

 

[Nowler]

Also,
Is mining Ethereum still practical?

 

[Henow1969]

Also,
Is mining Ethereum still practical?

Yes, you can still mine ETH and still miners are getting good mining reward.If you have good PC and installed a software you can mine and it and can get reward from it.

 

[Nowler]

So nobody has anything to say in regards to functionality??

Is it because the popularity of Crypto is purely herd mentality, and nobody actually knows the fundamentals of it?

😏

 

[Nowler]

Last bump on this thread before I let it fade to the abyss.

Surely SOMEONE actually knows what Bitcoin & Ethereum are?..

 

[TickCOM]

Etherum is more than just a coin, its a blockchain. Token issuers mostly use Etherum ERC-20. Apart from the blockchain part, its all about liquidity and volatility. Good liquidity and volatility means there is business, and thereby a good place to be.

Chosing which to trade its is also about volatility and liquidity, as below chart with a basket of crypto currencies illustrates - they are all very cointegrated. ETH is the dark blue, BTC is the almost flat green curve having minimal volatility - so one wouldnt trade BTC, but LTC, ETH etc.

 

[Nowler]

Etherum is more than just a coin, its a blockchain. Token issuers mostly use Etherum ERC-20. Apart from the blockchain part, its all about liquidity and volatility. Good liquidity and volatility means there is business, and thereby a good place to be.

Chosing which to trade its is also about volatility and liquidity, as below chart with a basket of crypto currencies illustrates - they are all very cointegrated. ETH is the dark blue, BTC is the almost flat green curve having minimal volatility - so one wouldnt trade BTC, but LTC, ETH etc.

View attachment 286915

Hi,

So Bitcoin is not a blockchain?
If that's the case, then what is the name of the blockchain that Bitcoin uses?

If Bitcoin is just a cryptocurrency, and Ethereum is that PLUS it's a blockchain... then Ethereum must have far more intrinsic value than Bitcoin, right?

 

[TickCOM]

Suggest you make a desk research on the technicalities, its a big subject.

 

[Nowler]

Suggest you make a desk research on the technicalities, its a big subject.

That's the point of this thread 🙂
To discuss it with people who actually know what it is.

 

[MasterOfCoin]

Last bump on this thread before I let it fade to the abyss.

Surely SOMEONE actually knows what Bitcoin & Ethereum are?..

Don't you dare let it fade away just yet !!

Yeah. I know, I'm late to the party, but now we can really get swinging.

🙂

 

[Nowler]

Don't you dare let it fade away just yet !!

Yeah. I know, I'm late to the party, but now we can really get swinging.

🙂

I'm quite late myself 🤔
I had no interest during the mania.

I'm still not sold on Bitcoin... but Ethereum has piqued my interest.
I'm finding it very difficult to find someone that actually knows what BTC or ETH is...

No shortage of people to tell me about it's price and their predictions on where it's going, but these same people cannot tell me what it is 🤣

As far as I can see, ETH has far more benefits than BTC!
BTC is very limited in it's function, whereas ETH can seem to do what BTC can, and then some (i.e Developing applications)

 

[MasterOfCoin]

So if this is the case, shouldn't the price of Ethereum be higher than Bitcoin? (if it does the same & more)

As with so many things in life, it doesn't work like that.

The price of Bitcoin is largely driven by speculative trading and fluctuates wildly accordingly.
It's best avoided for this reason alone.

Bitcoin was the original (first working cryptocurrency) and therefore gets all the attention and press coverage.
That, as with so many ideas, does not make it the best now.
It'll always be around (we still use candles for lighting after all) but crypto has come a long way since concept and there are now many and much better alternatives to choose from.

Ethereum is the next most valuable by a big margin and there are many applications based on it's blockchain workings, so it's likely to be much more practical to use as an alternative currency in the longer term, not least because the max supply limit of Bitcoins will make them impractical over the longer term.

That'll keep the Bitcoin price high, but make it useless as a currency..... for the same reason that nobody pays for their burger 'n fries in gold. Ethers and other coins will eventually be far more widespread and accepted as a payment method for exactly the same reason.

🙂

 

[MasterOfCoin]

No shortage of people to tell me about it's price and their predictions on where it's going, but these same people cannot tell me what it is

And they are the same people that won't be able to tell you what money is, 🤣

There are 2 important things about cryptocurrency that make it glaringly different to traditional money.

1/ It's decentralized. There is no bank. Everybody is the bank.

2/ Anyone, anywhere (more or less) can use it.
- You don't have to be over 21, or have a job, or a passport, or an address, or in fact anything more than a cheap smartphone and access to wifi.

..... now you try being part of the pre-crypto global economy if you live in a tent on some remote island !

With Cryptocoins, you can.
You can trade with anyone, instantly, anywhere, basically for free.
(the transactions do incur a fee, but it's so tiny, it's negligible).

There isn't a bank on the planet that even comes remotely close to doing that.

Which is why you won't hear Governments, Regulators, or any of the Established way of doing things Institutions, saying anything nice about Bitcoin. It terrifies them.

Controlling money is power. Bitcoin changes all that.

Not surprising they don't like it.

😀

 

[MasterOfCoin]

Also,
Is mining Ethereum still practical?

In short; Yes.

 

[MasterOfCoin]

If Bitcoin is just a cryptocurrency, and Ethereum is that PLUS it's a blockchain... then Ethereum must have far more intrinsic value than Bitcoin, right?

Wrong. 😉

They are both cryptocurrencies. They both have blockchains. & both are decentralized.

😎

 

[Nowler]

As with so many things in life, it doesn't work like that.

The price of Bitcoin is largely driven by speculative trading and fluctuates wildly accordingly.
It's best avoided for this reason alone.

...Ethereum is the next most valuable by a big margin and there are many applications based on it's blockchain workings, so it's likely to be much more practical to use as an alternative currency in the longer term, not least because the max supply limit of Bitcoins will make them impractical over the longer term.

Agreed.
And maybe it's a good thing that the current market valuations of BTC and ETH are so different.
I wouldn't consider opening a position in BTC at these prices, and even if I did, it would be purely speculative.

ETH on the other hand is something I am interested in opening a small position in.
It's far less volatile than BTC, and seems to be more useful.
It's already leaps and bounds ahead of the competition, and ETH 2.0 is due in... 1-2 years??

If digital currency is the future, then it's most likely going to be a Central Bank issued one - not the adoption of Bitcoin, or Ethereum.
So when we remove that from the equation, we are left with the blockchain technology itself, and this is where it seems ETH has BTC beaten, hands down.

You touched on an interesting point however, and that's the max supply limit.
From what I can make out, the max Bitcoin limit of 21million will not be reached until around 2140.
Though apparently the source code could be changed to allow more...

Ethereum has passed 100milion, and apparently Vitalik Butterin has proposed a cap at 120million (or 144million if 120 is passed by the time it's agreed). So if it has no cap currently, and they can put a cap on it... then I assume a cap can be removed again?? Meaning that technically, neither is finite.

From what I have been reading, ETH is about to go beast mode in the coming months (year?) with ETH 2.0
This will make ETH far more efficient than it currently is right now.

Ethereum 2.0 is coming – Here’s what you NEED to know

 

[MasterOfCoin]

If digital currency is the future, then it's most likely going to be a Central Bank issued one - not the adoption of Bitcoin, or Ethereum.

Which would be a complete disaster !

The whole point of digital currency is that it does not need a central bank.
Indeed, that was the entire purpose that drove it's development.
Eliminate fake currency (the flawed by design fractional reserve system) and you get real money with value that can't be manipulated at will by greed or corruption or political whim.

I agree that Governments and Central Banks will most certainly launch Digital Currencies in the near future in a desperate attempt to secure absolute control over all financial transactions in every possible circumstance. They are spending a great deal of time effort and resources in developing them.

Make no mistake, this is done in the name of slavery, not freedom.

I'm not suggesting that there's anything inherently wrong with that, just pointing out that it's simply replacing paper slavery with digital slavery, and if that suits, then so be it.

But it won't fix everything that's flawed about using a debt based money system that requires exponential growth in new debt in order to service the functioning of the economy.

Blockchain technology and the elimination of the need of a central controlling bank to facilitate transactions has the potential to make all that history. No more spiraling debt, no more currency manipulation, no more rampant inflation.

Of course, the downside is, you then can't magic money out of thin air, or print as much as you want whenever you feel like it. Oh deary me, no more stimulus cheques 🤣🤣🤣

The upside is, far less fraud.

Blockchains are immutable. Once somethings embedded in the blockchain, it's indisputable. & that's good, very, very good.

Imagine that for a sec, your right to a share dividend or title to a land deed secured in a blockchain, that can't be lost, stolen, altered or disputed. Oh the possibilities....

And that's where Ethereum (and others similar to it) comes in- it's designed to accommodate just such things.

So yes, all hail ETH 2.0 and the demise of the Monster from Jekyll Island.

👍😎👍

 

[Nowler]

I just don't see an end to central banks. Perhaps we will see an end to commercial banks (if this happens, it wont be until long after we are gone)... and each country will have just the one bank... and they will all have their own digital coin (currency).

Aren't China leading the way in terms of a sovereign digital currency?

No matter what system we adopt, it will never be perfect, and it will always end badly. It's just how it is...
It comes about as an alternative to the old way that wasn't working, but only ever comes when the shit is hitting the fan.

Then it too becomes an old way of doing something, superseded by the new system.

We must also factor in the exponential growth of our species too!
A finite amount of money makes sense... at the time... but as we grow exponentially, there is less and less to go around, and therefore more needs to be made as there isn't enough to go around, or we need to totally change the system again.

We will never change a system unless we are forced to.
A patch is always preferred.

 

[MasterOfCoin]

I just don't see an end to central banks.

Neither do I - the United States in particular has a long and interesting history of Presidents who died prematurely while attempting to do so (end central banking). But if ordinary people simply switch to using alternative payment systems on mass, they are kind of left high and dry, lol.

Aren't China leading the way in terms of a sovereign digital currency?

They are indeed. Oh, the advantages of a one party communist state !

We must also factor in the exponential growth of our species too!

I rather think Covid, or something similar, might help with that 😵

We will never change a system unless we are forced to.
A patch is always preferred.

So true.
It's only when all the patches are leaking faster than the pumps can bail, that everybody suddenly rushes at once for the wholly inadequate number of lifeboats. Most drown.

Lesson: Disembark in a life raft as soon as you see the torpedo trail ....
You may well perish anyway, but it sure improves your chances of survival.

🙂


... and stash some coins in a crypto wallet, you may need them one day.

 

[Nowler]

Unfortunately there won't be a switch en masse to an alternative system as people are now even more in the palms of government and central banks than ever. Yes, we seem to be more willing to protest and riot, and yes, we can force their hands to a degree, but it wont be in terms of a new monetary system (not one the govs/CB's can't control). We will use whatever they decide that we should use.

There is currently no alternative that's ready to use...
This current system, like the gold standard, is inadequate for what the world had evolved into.

We have already established that Bitcoin is not practical for them, and as much as I am beginning to like ETH, it along with all other current crypto are off the table too - for this purpose anyway.

A centralised digital coin is the probable successor.

I am going out on a limb here, but with all the debt in the world, and the likelihood of a massive kick-off in military conflict, perhaps that will be the best time to default (or whatever term it will be branded as) on debt obligations. Maybe it will come towards the end of a long and painful war... and in the spirit of a new world, certain debt is washed away to coincide with this new post-conflict world, and the dawn of a new system.... a digital system??

In regards to Covid addressing the exponential growth of humans - fat chance!
The mortality rate is too low... it's not a global killer. Plus, even if it was more deadly... it's temporary. We would (and will) continue to multiply uncontrollably again.

Lets face it... we've had a great run 🙂
Maybe not you or I, but as a whole, we have had a nice run of prosperity - albeit declining with time... but it's time to shake things up again.

I wonder what will be left standing when the dust clears, lol