Ethereum Emerges from Bitcoin’s Shadow, Pushes the Crypto Envelope with Projects Having a Real World Value

Since its launch in 2015, Ethereum has pretty much played second fiddle to Bitcoin but that is starting to change now.

20:51 04 March 2022

Always the bridesmaid and never the bride- investors getting into crypto have mostly overlooked Ethereum (ETH) in favor of Bitcoin (BTC). 

 

The Bitcoin narrative is built upon two key things; one, the untapped potential for the crypto token to be the global currency of the future; two, Bitcoin could be that digital currency with a reasonably stable store of value.

 

You never know, these two postulates could fail: Bitcoin may not be as paradigm shifting as it has always been touted to be, and it may not displace gold as the new-age safe haven asset.

 

This might draw a bit of flak from eternal Bitcoin enthusiasts and long-term hodl-ers but it needs to be said: unless Bitcoin overcomes all the regulatory hurdles in its way, it may be reduced to a mere speculator’s dream asset that ebbs and flows in cycles based on news flow, gaining nothing in value over time.

 

Bitcoin Still Bogged Down by Issues

Bitcoin, now in its second decade, is still mired in controversies concerning the lack of regulation, the huge impact mining has on the environment, security etc. It’s unfortunate these issues are proving to be a huge obstacle to Bitcoin being adopted at a grander scale, but it is what it is. Also proving to be a drag on Bitcoin’s growth going forward could be the rising correlation between Bitcoin and risky assets particularly the S&P 500 index.

 

Undermining claims that Bitcoin has all the makings to be the digital gold, the rate at which the crypto leader is moving in tandem with the index has climbed into a zone of concern where it cannot be neglected anymore. With several of these issues still undecided, the uncertainties over Bitcoin’s move to ascendancy remain.

 

Ethereum Bridging the Gap

Ethereum, on the other hand, has done extremely well to reduce the gap with its bigger cousin. From being called a wannabe Bitcoin, Ethereum has risen into a highly transformed network with a wider and bigger ecosystem, thanks in part to the rapid emergence of smart contracts and a range of other third-party projects hosted on the Ethereum blockchain.

 

The popularity of Ethereum has risen to a whole new level, well manifested in the steep rise of the market capitalization before and after the pandemic. As of writing, Ethereum’s market cap is just half of that of Bitcoin but has run up at a much faster rate than it managed before the pandemic.

 

Glassnode, the on-chain data analytics service, points to a few key metrics that denote the rapid growth of the Ethereum network. It says the network grew bigger by 18.36 million in 2021, with nearly 1.53 million new addresses added every month. Another encouraging figure is the number of addresses on the network holding at least 1 ETH, which stood at 1.42 million this February. Not bad for a network accounting for around 74% of all transactions in DeFi, short for Decentralized Finance, according to the website State of The dApps.

 

The Ethereum network, also, boasts a lion’s share in the Non-Fungible Token (NFT) space as well, accounting for more than 80% of the total market share. And this figure is all set to go up with more blue-chip companies and large corporations set to enter the space. Just for the record, Opensea, the largest NFT marketplace hosted on Ethereum blockchain, sent records tumbling with gross sales figures touching a whopping $3.5 billion in ETH.

 

Innovation-Driven Tech Community Pushes the Envelope, Offering Great Value

On the development front, too, Ethereum is growing from strength to strength. Unlike the Bitcoin space, where more decentralization and security take precedence over everything else, the community of Ethereum developers fully understand how Ethereum could be the gateway for all kinds of crypto projects and applications. In addition to NFT and DeFi, which we touched upon briefly, another ginormous realm that could make a huge splash in the crypto waters is web 3- a catchphrase for the next iteration of the internet that is built on the premise of decentralization and powered by blockchain tech. Ethereum has a big role to play in its development.

 

Another exciting bit of news is that the multi-year long upgrade of Ethereum from a proof-of-work mining model to a proof-of-stake model also known as consensus mechanism is in its last leg. When the makeover is complete, the Ethereum network is expected to handle close to 1,00,000 transactions per second, without being as energy intensive. But, more importantly, it will allow investors and traders a genuine chance to earn rewards for staking their crypto tokens in a smart contract governed by protocols such as DeFi to name a few. Now that’s adding financial value, for real.

 

Staking lets you lock your crypto tokens with a service provider, who’d give you more tokens in return in much the same way banks give you interest for the money you put away in a savings account with them. The Bitcoin blockchain, however, doesn’t allow one to stake their crypto tokens, which sort of underpins how Ethereum has carved a niche for itself after emerging from the shadows of Bitcoin.

 

A spate of new, happening crypto projects and applications drums home the message that Ethereum continues to push the envelope of crypto. It has had a few good years on the bounce in terms of growth and is all set to carry its momentum forward. Should it keep things ticking over at this rate, it will be much bigger down the line, and it won’t be a surprise if it ends up upstaging Bitcoin to be the numero uno currency of the whole crypto pack. Traders frequently swap Ethereum as part of their strategy to maximize profits and leverage Ethereum’s growing prominence in the market. 

 

Let’s wrap this up real quick. Ethereum is not a wannabe Bitcoin; it was never one. It was built with the vision to offer something unique to crypto enthusiasts, and it’s good that hordes of investors are finally coming around to recognize the value it brings to their crypto portfolio. In fact, some are already investing their proceeds from selling Bitcoin to buy into chunks of Ethereum on a regular basis. Traders, too, are making a beeline to crypto exchanges, ready to ride the next bullish wave whenever it begins. If you’re a trader wanting to make decent money trading Ethereum, check out ethereum code site today. Powered by an intelligent, purpose-built algorithm that could buy and sell Ethereum tokens on its own without any manual intervention whatsoever, it makes navigating the highs and lows of market a lot easier so you can earn huge profits with minimal risk, no matter your level of skill and expertise in trading crypto.