Market analysts, along with those from Goldman Sachs, have said that Ethereum (ETH) will end up surpassing Bitcoin (BTC) soon when it comes to it being a store of value. However, there are other analysts who are equally adamant that this will never come to pass and that Bitcoin will manage to retain its lead in the overall crypto market. Since the digital currency market is highly volatile, it is almost impossible to predict which cryptocurrency is going to win in the future. Regardless, it is possible to assess the performance of a token over a given period of time and then use it for figuring out the best way to invest in the market, depending on which cryptocurrencies will outperform the rest.
Launched in 2009, Bitcoin pioneered the crypto industry and remains the most popular in the market, as opposed to the rest. To start it, most of the companies out there have become to accept Bitcoin as a means of payment. A number of firms had ventured into the Cryptoverse during the boom and most of them had begun it with Bitcoin. PayPal, Tesla, MasterCard and others have all opted for Bitcoin over the rest of the cryptocurrencies in the market due to its popularity. This is an excellent example of Bitcoin’s dominance, along with its use as a medium of exchange.
A report by NYDIG gave evidence about the popularity of Bitcoin, as it confirmed that the premier cryptocurrency is owned by almost 50 million Americans. This indicates that in a market of thousands of altcoins, Bitcoin manages to stand out because a lot more people associate with it than others. If you compare these numbers against the people who hold Ethereum, you will find the numbers to be far too low. Moreover, Bitcoin has also gained popularity amongst governments of countries that have been slapped with US economic sanctions.
Iran is an excellent example, which has promoted the use of Bitcoin to help the economy survive after the economic restrictions that the US government has imposed on the country. But, the Iranian state has once again clamped down on its mining industry this week, blaming the miners for widespread blackouts in the country. Another reason why the chances of Ethereum taking over Bitcoin are low is because Bitcoin is available on every crypto exchange. Every new exchange first starts with Bitcoin before it moves to other cryptocurrencies like Ethereum.
In contrast, Ethereum has become a formidable competitor for Bitcoin. It is considered the second-largest cryptocurrency and also has a large clientele. In the past few years, a comparison between the growth rates of the two leading cryptocurrencies shows that in the last 12 months, Bitcoin’s price has increased by 300% while Ethereum’s price is up by 1,000%. One of the reasons why Ethereum has shown resilience is because it is not just popular because of being a store of value. Its network is a hub for numerous DeFi projects and this has also contributed to Ethereum’s growth rate. If ETH 2.0 is implemented, its value will go even higher.
