Straight away, the distinction to make regarding bitcoin here is that it is still the dominant player in the cryptocurrency arena. Although that is not to say Ethereum has not been snapping at its heels lately, it has. What Ethereum offers that bitcoin does not is a wider range of applications and functions. But let us take a more detailed look at those differences now.
Ethereum Concerns More Than Mere Money
The term ‘digital currency’ does not quite cover all of what Ethereum really is. It is after all a platform rooted in blockchain containing numerous different aspects to it. There are variables like smart contracts and the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) to consider as well as the currency it uses, called ether for the same sort of peer-to-peer transaction you engage with bitcoin.
Applications stored in blockchain are used by Ethereum’s smart contracts for contract facilitation and negotiation. The main benefit of said contracts is the blockchain supplies a decentralized method of validating them. Being decentralized makes it a lot tougher for the occurrence of fraud and censors. The smart contracts have an objective not only to enhance security over traditional contracts, but also to reduce the costs involved.
Ethereum is not entirely separate from bitcoin. The two do share striking similarities. They are both decentralized peer-to-peer cryptocurrencies and use a blockchain. Both are useful for the storage and transfer of value. But the fundamental intention with Ethereum is rather different. With Ethereum, a smart contract is basically Ethereum addresses which have a viable code and are stored in the blockchain.
Both these currencies are still relatively young along with the whole concept of cryptocurrency. However, if you were to ask which of the two are more stable, the answer would be bitcoin. Perhaps that is why it is still sitting pretty on the number one spot. But who’s to say that will not change? Ethereum is fast growing and volatile in nature. In this year alone, its value has spike thousands of times over.
Implementing Smart Contracts with Your Own Cryptocurrency
With Ethereum, you can create digital tokens which can be used to can represent assets, virtual shares, proof of membership and so on. They are compliant with any digital wallet and exchanges using the standard coin API.
After copying the code on the Ethereum website, you can use the tokens for multiple reasons from the representation of shares to fundraising and voting. Based on your established rules, you can have your circulation of tokens either in a fixed amount or a fluctuating amount.
Ethereum Does Not Require You to Have a Kickstarter
Ethereum enables you to increase funding for several uses. If you are trying to get a new venture going, simply set up a contract and look to the community for assistance. The funds that have been raised will be held until the aim is reached or the any certain date that has been agreed upon in advance. If your goal is not reached, the funds will go right back to the contributors or be diverted to another project which was successful. Taking out the third party, rules, fees, and all is what constitutes kicking out Kickstarter.
Skip Over Traditional Management with Democratic Autonomous Establishments
In addition to helping you outsource your funding, Ethereum can help you with organization and structuring as well. You can acquire different proposals from people who have supported your idea and put it to a vote to decide how you should proceed. This alleviates the cost of traditional structuring that includes doing paperwork and hiring managers. Ethereum will also safeguard your project from outer influences.
Block Times
With bitcoin, your block time lasts on average for 10 minutes. With Ethereum, it is closer to 12 seconds thanks to its GHOST protocol. So confirmations are faster but there are more abandoned blocks.
Conclusion
We have not had time to cover all of the differences here but from what we have shown, it is easy to understand how Ethereum and bitcoin are two different beasts. While they have their cryptocurrency status in common, that is all there is regarding their similarities.
Bitcoin is still the more stable cryptocurrency but Ethereum branches out more. Ether is merely a working part of it smart contract operations.