(BTC) and (ETH) are two of the world’s top cryptocurrencies in terms of the total market cap. So, it’s easy to get confused when choosing between BTC and ETH for investing.
As of Feb 2021, BTC and ETH rank at the 1st and 2nd position respectively in the Coinmarketcap’s list of the top cryptocurrencies of all-time. At the same time, both the coins have shown a tremendous growth trend in the past years.
So, it’s quite understandable when someone wants to choose BTC or ETH or both to start their investing journey in cryptocurrencies. Not just beginners, but even expert crypto investors can’t seem to keep their hands off these two maestros of the crypto market.
Whether you are looking to start your crypto journey or just curious about the future of bitcoin vs ETH, read this BTC vs ETH growth analysis guide first to get some useful data to help you make the right decision.
Bitcoin is the world’s first and definitely the most successful cryptocurrency in the market. Launched in 2009, BTC started trading at a nominal price of US$0.0008 in July 2010. And now, at the time of writing this article, 1 BTC is worth more than $50,000.
The coin has recently touched its all-time high of $56,000, and the total market cap crossed $1 trillion to leave behind the likes of Google (NASDAQ:) (momentary) and Facebook (NASDAQ:).
So, by now, you must have got an idea of how powerful Bitcoin is. Some experts assume that Bitcoin will continue to grow and touch the price of $100,000 and even more in the next couple of years.
But, it’s not all roses when it comes to Bitcoin. There are also people who still think that Bitcoin is just a big bubble, which will eventually burst, leaving many investors bankrupt in its wake.
The thing that has been haunting Bitcoin’s existence ever since its launch more than a decade ago is the fact that it’s an unregulated digital currency that no banks or governments fully support.
But again, we cannot simply deny the fact that Bitcoin has made many investors millionaires over the past decade? It has come a long way from being nothing to becoming one of the most valuable assets on the planet. So, yes, bitcoin has the real potential and it’s one of the best, high-yield investment options today.
Ethereum is as powerful a cryptocurrency as Bitcoin, if not more. Originally launched as a development platform for decentralized apps, Ethereum fulfils what Bitcoin lacks – the availability of real use cases.
While Bitcoin is strictly a payment-focused cryptocurrency, Ethereum is all about boosting the reach and applications of the blockchain, the technology that powers bitcoin, ETH, and most other cryptocurrencies in the world. Ethereum has shown us that blockchain is much more than just a way to process crypto transactions.
So far, it has given us a way to create smart contracts and decentralized applications based on blockchain, which will always be counted as Ethereum’s biggest contribution to the Defi (Decentralized Finance) industry.
Okay, enough sentiments. Let’s get to the real numbers.
Despite being a cryptocurrency focused on anything but the price or growth of its own coin, ETH has made surprisingly significant progress in terms of price and total market cap. In just about six years of its launch, the coin has managed an ROI of 57138.61%, compared to Bitcoin’s ROI of 37264.09%. (Source: coinmarketcap.com)
While the launch price of ETH (in July 2015) was around $1, the currency now trades at a price of over $1600 (in Feb 2021) and had reached its all-time high of $1900 earlier the same month.
And now with the launch of ETH 2.0, an upgrade to the original Ethereum blockchain with more power, efficiency, and stability, there is no saying whether the growth will stop anytime soon.
But, same as Bitcoin, ETH also suffers from the fact that it’s an unregulated currency, which somewhat limits the project’s applications in the real world.
In the end, it all boils down to the question – which is better: Ethereum or Bitcoin?
The answer to this question is more complex than one might think. The best we can do is try & figure it out by analyzing the historic performance and price growth of both the crypto giants.
Did you know there are crypto exchanges where you can buy/sell Bitcoin and ETH directly from/to other users? These are called P2P exchanges. Shiftal is a great example you can check out.
Ethereum vs Bitcoin: Growth & Performance
In terms of the total market cap, Bitcoin is the biggest cryptocurrency of all. It’s also the most popular digital currency in terms of user interest and investment.
In fact, it is so popular that most of the crypto rallies are often led by Bitcoin, which is another reason why most institutional investors prefer to invest in Bitcoin rather than altcoins.
The bitcoin price did not increase steadily but has seen many ups and downs over the years. In December 2017, the coin price crossed $20,000 for the first time in its history, and a year after that, it dropped back to around $3,000 in December 2018, giving a mini heart attack to a lot of investors.
This was when most of the investors started losing their trust in Bitcoin and hastily moved out, which was a mistake.
About two years later, after dropping to one of its lowest points of $5,000 in March 2020, BTC price started surging and eventually reached its current all-time high of over $56,000 on February 21, 2021.
The Ethereum price movement was more or less identical to Bitcoin. The coin price remained under $10 for about a year from its launch. It saw a significant increase in March 2017, around the same time when the Bitcoin price was surging.
By December 2017, ETH was trading at above $800, and then reached its then all-time high of $1440 in January 2018, only to eventually drop back to less than $400 in April 2018.
After that, the ETH price remained in the range of $100 – $300 for about two years, the same as bitcoin. In March 2020, it was trading at around $130 and then started surging to eventually reach its current all-time high of $2,029 on February 20, 2021, one day before Bitcoin reached its all-time high.
To answer your question – which is better b/w ETH and BTC – I would say, it depends.
Both Bitcoin and ETH have achieved significant growth over the past years. Also, the above price analysis of both currencies shows that their movements are somewhat linked with each other. So, you can invest in either or both and will still probably get good returns after a year or so.
However, if you only need to choose one, I would suggest looking into the core values, ideals, goals, and future applications of the coin/project that you are interested in.
While Bitcoin continues to be a pure payment currency that investors are actively & heavily investing in, Ethereum is a coin focused on the future growth of blockchain.
You can expect Ethereum to keep improving in terms of speed, efficiency, and usability in the coming years, something which may not be necessarily true for Bitcoin.
That said, we don’t expect the Bitcoin surge to stop anytime soon. Yes, the price will drop eventually and may even touch $10,000 again, if experts are to be believed, but it will rise again and may even touch the $100,000 mark soon, no doubt about that.
Conclusion – Bitcoin vs Ethereum
If you care about the money, you can invest in either Bitcoin or ETH, as both have produced amazing returns since their respective inceptions.
If you are looking to make a good ROI in a short period and are ready to take some risk for it, Bitcoin is probably the best investment option for you. On the other hand, if you care more about the project behind the coin and wish to invest for the long-term, ETH would be the best fit for your investment needs.
Experts believe that Bitcoin is yet to reach its full potential, making its one of the best options for those looking to get good returns from their investment in 2021.
On the other hand, ETH is believed to be extremely undervalued in terms of price in comparison to its potential, which makes it a mine yet to be fully explored.
If you are interested in investing in ETH or BTC, the easiest and probably the most profitable way of doing that is via P2P exchanges like Shiftal that allows crypto buyers & sellers to connect and trade directly with each other.