By Adeogbo Adedolapo
Both bitcoin and Ethereum are the two leading cryptocurrencies. This is why investors are getting attracted and a lot of them are making moves to buy bitcoin and Ethereum. It is an undisputed fact that two projects have great potential. Bitcoin is the first and largest decentralized virtual currency and has been in existence for over 11 years. Satoshi Nakamoto launched Bitcoin in 2009 to help alleviate the economic crisis that conventional banks caused across the globe.
Since the creation of Bitcoin, it has helped make transactions easier, faster, and cheaper. Over the years, there have been different speculations by naysayers that the cryptocurrency market will crash soon, on the contrary, the crypto market has been waxing stronger as the years go by. Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other cryptocurrencies will definitely be part of the future.
On the other hand, Ethereum was developed to be a better version of bitcoin in terms of scalability. Ethereum is more like a development platform. When Ethereum came into existence, a lot of people believed that it would be bitcoin’s biggest competitor. However, Ethereum has never been about the price, but it has been about the platform. Since its inception, the blockchain industry has gone beyond just cryptocurrency. Ethereum has made smart contracts, decentralized finance (Defi), and decentralized apps (DApps) possible. It is right to say Ethereum is more for designers and developers, and not just a coin that should be limited for transactions purposes only. Despite its wide usage for different things, it has attained a high price value and that makes it a potential and good investment option.
The history and performance of Bitcoin and Ethereum
The first Important point to note is that Bitcoin is the very first and the most popular currency in the crypto market. This is one of the reasons why it has always been leading the race in the crypto market. It currently has the highest price value and also the highest exchange rate against USD.
Additionally, BTC is the coin that most people look towards to determine the price of other cryptocurrencies. Bitcoin has also seen incredible bull runs. In 2020, Bitcoin reached an all-time high, going as high as $41,000. The last all-time high was far back in 2017 when bitcoin almost peaked at $20,000. The price and popularity of Bitcoin have made it overshadow every other cryptocurrency.
Another critical moment in bitcoin history is the massive bitcoin correction that took bitcoin’s worth from $20,000 in 2017 to a little above $3,000. When this happened, the media and the naysayers were buzzing about Bitcoin being a Ponzi. Some said Bitcoin is just a failed asset that might come to an end anytime soon. However, fast forward to 2021, Bitcoin surged to pass the all-time high of 2017, $20,000 and reached a new all-time high of $41,900 on the 10th of January 2021. The increase in price has made a lot of people more willing to buy bitcoin in South Africa. Recently, institutional investors like Grayscale are getting more interested in bitcoin and are putting more money in the bitcoin market. This has resulted in the scarcity of bitcoin and the corresponding price increase.
Tesla, an electric car production company owned by the renowned engineer and founder of SpaceX, Elon Musk has recently purchased $1.5 billion worth of Bitcoin. In addition to this massive purchase, Tesla plans to begin accepting Bitcoin from customers as payment for its cars purchase in the nearest future. This single action by Tesla has caused Bitcoin to break its all-time high and off to set a new one.
The best time to buy bitcoin was before now, the second-best time is NOW!
Ethereum
On the other hand, during the early days of 2018, Ethereum recorded its all-time high when it sold for $1,440. After the all-time high, Ethereum has also followed the correction trend. However, in 2021 ETH has hit a new all-time high and is currently trading above $1600. The Ethereum development team is currently working to making the Ethereum network more efficient, secure, and more beneficial by launching ETH 2.0.
Looking at the track record of both Bitcoin and Ethereum you would notice that they have both had good price trends and both have excellent use cases and value, which are criteria for good investments.
Bitcoin or Ethereum?
It is not easy to pick the best cryptocurrency to invest in 2021. This is because both bitcoin and Ethereum are in fact, great coins. Additionally, they have both got the huge potential of giving a good return on investment. Bitcoin had a good run in 2020, and we are expecting a bigger run in 2021. This means, more people will be willing to buy BTC, making it a perfect investment option.
After the bitcoin halving that took place on May 11th 2020, the surge in bitcoin has been incredible. BTC has gained more mainstream media attention and more institutional investors including phone company Apple are set to buy BTC. This is why a surge in the price of bitcoin is expected. There are also predictions from experts that bitcoin is nowhere close to its full potential, and it has the potential of growing stronger in 2021.
Ethereum, on the other hand, is the leading Altcoin. The Ethereum 2.0 project is another major talking point. This is because advancements like speed and scalability will bring more investors. Some people left ethereum due to the high fees, and some left due to the slow network.
However, the ethereum 2.0 project would address these issues and definitely attract more investors. With the implementation of Ethereum 2.0, ethereum would become faster, more robust, and a perfect investment option.
With the current price of Bitcoin, it is suitable for investors with large pockets and liquidity who can spend over 40,000 USD to buy bitcoin. However, investors with decent capital can start their crypto investment with Ethereum because it is relatively cheap.
Conclusion
If you buy or invest in bitcoin or ethereum, you are simply investing in the future of finance. None of them is a bad investment. People always believe that they’re rival projects and that one might end the other. The fact is, Bitcoin and Ethereum are different projects, with different goals and serving different purposes. You can make the easy decision to invest in any of the two assets. It is easy to buy BTC and ETH currencies as there are lots of exchanges that allow users to buy and trade cryptocurrencies.
Bitcoin transaction fees are way lower than Ethereum transaction fees. On the other hand, ethereum might not be as popular or expensive as bitcoin but it can also serve as a great investment asset. They also have some similar features, but their adoption and use-cases are reasons you would find them both as good investment options.
Adeogbo Adedolapo is of Remitano group