Which is the better investment, ethereum or bitcoin? Well, this is a complex matter, and each has a certain draw to investors. Bitcoin is still at the top, and ethereum features technology that makes it cheaper and faster. So, which one is better?
Bitcoin has become a kind of fiat currency for cryptocurrency due to its age and popularity. Numerous investors trade other coins against bitcoin price, rather than using something like the Euro, U.S. dollar, etc. When the market begins to decline, investors will convert their investments into bitcoin and hold them in a wallet until the market shifts.
When the price of bitcoin drops, so does the price of most other coins and vice versa. It's the bellwether of the market and usually has a lot of support. When its price went up to $20,000 and came down to around $4,000, many thought of this as a bubble burst, but others just saw it as a needed correction, something that tends to happen in volatile markets.
Well, there are major flaws with the bitcoin blockchain. First, it is slow when compared to other cryptos. Transactions take a while to complete and exchanging the coin for fiat can be problematic. Ideally, when attempting to transfer bitcoin from your wallet to a cryptocurrency exchange, time can be of the essence. The quicker a transaction can be done, the faster you can buy or sell or retrieve your investment. High transaction fees are another issue with bitcoin.Transferring the coin costs more than other coins, and this makes it less appealing when sending a person bitcoin.
Ethereum was introduced to address the issues of bitcoin. Ethereum can be exchanged just like other coins through the Ethereum Virtual Machine or via smart contracts. The latter is like escrow. Two individuals agree to a particular contract that has certain conditions. The contract is then placed in the blockchain as code and then goes into the public ledger. The action is automatic, meaning there's no third party involved.
Determining which coin is a better investment is quite hard. The price of ethereum has been less volatile compared to bitcoin in the last several months, varying between $200 and $1,400, while Bitcoin has been between $3,000 and $20,000. Also, sometime back in 2018, ethereum was able to rise while most coins were falling and almost seemed like it would stand on its own. The technology behind bitcoin is complicated, costly and involves more computation power compared to ethereum.
At the end of the day, it all boils down to you making your own decision. If you want to invest in crypto, then you need to learn the basics of what they are, how they work, and how they are used. You ideally need to know the risks and only invest in what you can afford to lose. Knowing the market trends as well as indicators can help you become a wise investor and know where to put your money between bitcoin and ethereum.