Crypto-currencies are one of the most trending things of 2017,18, even they may have topped charts for gaining attention and appreciation at all levels. Cryptos valuation soared in this year from 10 times to 50 times for even the major currencies such as BTC and Ether. Right from the start of cryptocurrency, Bitcoin was unquestionably the unicorn of the crypto-currency world. However, in just a span of a few weeks, the competitor finally arrived as Ethereum, and many also term it as Ether.

Although Bitcoin still tops the crypto-currency market cap with more than 40% (as of today 192 billion$ out of 461Billion$) of value. However, the next big question is can the relatively newbie Ethereum be able to surpass the market cap of Bitcoin? Now let’s have a good look and understanding of both Bitcoin and Ether and figure out how they differ from each other and most importantly do they hold an edge over each other and the areas where they fall dull.

Bitcoin

Bitcoin is the first crypto-currency coded by someone using the username, “Satoshi Nakamoto” in the early 2009s. The figure is still mysterious and unknown to many of us, but whoever is involved behind this cryptocurrency, he/she did a great deal of invention which later transformed the way the financial system is viewed. The coding of this method is XBT. It is a peer to peer decentralized payment system with anonymity and transparency embedded. Several websites that accept Bitcoin as a payment medium are raising its popularity day by day, and there are also dedicated payment providers as Bitpay.

The most remarkable aspect of Bitcoin is that one can use it to purchase things electronically. So in one way, you can consider it very similar to current dollars, yen or euros, which are also traded digitally. The critical point to consider is this currency isn’t actually published on paper in the shadows by any central bank, in fact, it is created digitally, by a private group of people and any individual can join.

Besides these, the other vital attributes of this digital currency are:

• Easy to set up – In general, most of the conventional banks make you or ask you to follow various procedures to just open a bank account. Also, to set up merchant accounts for reimbursement is an additional complicated task, but with bitcoin, you can quickly set up a bitcoin address. No questions or further verification is asked, and with no fees payable.
• Completely transparent– Once you use your bitcoin address publicly then it gets a lot easy to track and find out bitcoins stored at that particular address. However, it gets essential for you to to take measures and make activities more smoky on the bitcoin network. In fact, you must not use the same bitcoin addresses consistently, and never transfer lots of bitcoin to a single address.
• Fast & non-reputable– You can send money anywhere, as soon as the bitcoin network processes the payment. However, once you have submitted your bitcoins, there’s no getting them back, except the addressee returns them back to you.

Ethereum

Ethereum is also considered close to Bitcoin. Ethereum was produced in 2015 by a Vitalik Buterin. However, it is not a digital currency. It is a blockchain based platform. In fact, one can consider it as an open software platform based on blockchain technology that enables the developer to successfully create and deploy decentralized applications. Ethereum extends the blockchain concepts from Bitcoin which validates, stocks, and copies transaction data on different computers systems around the world. Currently, Ethereum stands at $890.88. It may be less popular than Bitcoin as the rate difference is pretty much high, but Ethereum seems to have more capability to improve due to its speed and efficiency. Using the Ethereum client software, one can use it to:

• Discover Ethereum’s blockchain
• Generate new transactions and smart contracts
• Run smart contracts

What is the difference between Ethereum & Bitcoin?

Unlike Bitcoin, Ether is not traded in any financial institution, so its value is not connected to the stock market or currency. Its value is generally determined in the open market as per the selling or buying operations, resulting in a change of price in current time. However, if we talk about its difference from Bitcoin, then it gets technical and gets a bit complex.

Ethereum’s block time is smaller

Comparing it with Bitcoin, the time between blocks in Ethereum is around 14 seconds, but with Bitcoin, it is approximately 10 minutes. Therefore, Ethereum’s transaction gets recorded into Ethereum’s blockchain quicker and efficiently if compared to the Bitcoin’s transaction.

Ethereum has smaller blocks

Currently, those most extreme square measure on Ethereum is around 1,500,000 gas. Necessary transactions of ETH from one account to another (i.e. not a smart contract) have an intricacy of 21,000 Gas, and therefore it is easy to fit around 70 deals into a block (1,500,000 / 21,000). In Bitcoin you presently get around 3,000-4,000 transactions clinched alongside.

Conclusion

While many will compare the crypto-currency aspect of both Ethereum and Bitcoin, the reality is that they are vastly different and have different intentions. Bitcoin has emerged as a relatively stable digital currency, while Ethereum aims to encompass more.

Ethereum is a progress based on the standard of blockchain that supports bitcoin but with a tenacity that does not compete with Bitcoin. However, the attractiveness of market capitalization of Ether brings it in a race with all cryptocurrencies, especially from the trading perspective.