Can Ethereum (ETH) really overtake Bitcoin (BTC)? Some analysts are in favour of the idea that the smart contract crypto has all the potential to overtake the queen of crypto assets in the long run, while others remain impassive about the current reality.
Specifically, both Goldman Sachs and WisdomTree analysts argue that Vitalik Buterin’s crypto, ETH, is the candidate asset to continue to receive the accolades it has already achieved, surpassing Bitcoin.
On the other hand, there is much evidence from other analysts to the contrary. Namely, that the pioneer BTC will maintain its dominance in the crypto market.
At the moment, the entire crypto market is trying to resist the collapse dictated by China‘s announcement of a crypto-mining ban.
In this regard, in the latest Goldman Sachs report, “Crypto: a new asset class?”, in addition to analyzing Bitcoin, analysts focus on Ethereum, describing it as follows:
“A blockchain platform like Ethereum could become a big market for those selling trusted information, much like Amazon does today with consumer goods.”
They add that Buterin’s crypto has the characteristics to surpass Bitcoin as the dominant store of value, precisely when compared to an Amazon of information.
Not only that, Jason Guthrie, head of digital assets at WisdomTree, called the current dizzying collapse of cryptocurrencies an ideal time to trigger a new cycle of asset reallocation, which would favour Ethereum.
According to Guthrie, Ethereum moving from a Proof-of-Work (PoW) protocol, like Bitcoin’s, to Proof-of-Stake (PoS) would eliminate the environmental havoc caused by mining, due to which Musk said he had to cancel the use of bitcoin to buy Teslas.
Can Ethereum overtake Bitcoin? The two crypto assets compared
The trend of price increases over the last year has seen a +300% for BTC relative to its price 12 months ago, compared to +1000% for ETH.
A growth rate that could hint at a possibility that Ethereum could actually overtake Bitcoin. Certainly, BTC’s current $40,000, with $700 billion market cap, versus ETH’s $2,500, with $300 billion market capitalisation, are not exactly comparable numbers.
Yet, looking into the future Ethereum has three points in its favour against one, perhaps the most important, still in the hands of the crypto queen.
Ethereum is the technology behind the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) which, thanks to smart contracts, has been able to develop other markets over time.
In fact, the explosion of interest in tokenization, the creation of decentralized finance or DeFi, and the new and expanding market for NFTs (Non-Fungible Tokens) are just some of the foundations for the development of Ethereum in the crypto and fintech context.
Bitcoin, on the other hand, is the Golden White Paper that gave birth to the entire crypto world and retains its hegemony as it goes. In fact, its popularity was even highlighted recently after an NYDIG report confirmed that nearly 50 million Americans own bitcoin.
Not only that, bitcoin is still the most accepted means of payment by companies that innovated, ventured into the crypto world starting with BTC. It is no coincidence that MasterCard, Tesla and others have all chosen BTC over other cryptocurrencies because of its popularity.
And again, BTC is ubiquitous! Any crypto exchange offers exchanges in BTC before moving on to other crypto assets like Ethereum.
So, the question of whether Ethereum can really outperform Bitcoin may not be a reality.
Satoshi Nakamoto’s crypto retains a wealth of ideals that have paved the way for the entire peer-to-peer market of decentralization and disintermediation.
BTC represents the revolutionary icon of the entire crypto movement, from which ETH and all other altcoins were born. A real challenge for ETH, which will probably have its chance, being the second crypto by market cap, and the most dynamic and revolutionary, but still the child of a movement created by BTC.
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