Mr Chambers said Ethereum is “like Bitcoin only with a sophisticated computer attached”. He said: “Ethereum does what your bank does, except it hasn’t got people and buildings and wildly expensive overheads. It is creating banks, insurance companies, stock exchanges, book makers and saving accounts that free float on the internet.”
He added: “Ethereum is like a portal to a techie financial Narnia which will turn finance on its head.”
Ethereum is currently preparing for another update, which will introduce new parameters, according to Eric Demuth of Bitpanda, a crypto broker.
Ripple
Ripple, which runs a coin called XRP, is a technology that acts as a digital payment network for financial transactions.
It differs significantly from Bitcoin and Ethereum, according to Mr Goodbody, as it is not built on blockchain technology.
This crypto was designed as a faster and more secure way of paying for things and transferring money. Transactions are much quicker and cheaper than the two crpytos detailed above.
Mr Anissimov said Bitcoin transfers can take up to 15 minutes, which is not practical for common use. Ripple’s biggest advantage is that it can process payments much more quickly, fast enough to be usable in coffee shops, for instance.
Ripple is currently worth a lot less than Bitcoin or Ether but it could have a “very promising future” if financial institutions start to adopt it, Mr Goodbody said.
Read more about how to invest in cryptocurrencies and if it is a good idea.