Bitcoin ($BTC ) and Ethereum ($ETH )
) — two of the most popular cryptocurrencies, but they have different goals and technical features. Bitcoin, created in 2009 by Satoshi Nakamoto, is considered digital gold. Its main purpose is decentralized currency and a means of storing value. Due to its limited supply (21 million coins) and the Proof-of-Work (PoW) algorithm, BTC provides high security, but transactions are relatively slow and expensive.
Ethereum, launched in 2015 by Vitalik Buterin, offers broader functionality. It is a platform for smart contracts that allows the creation of decentralized applications (dApps) and tokens. ETH uses Proof-of-Stake (PoS) after the Merge upgrade in 2022, making it more energy-efficient. Transactions on Ethereum are faster, but the network sometimes suffers from high fees due to congestion.
Bitcoin attracts investors as a stable asset, while Ethereum is popular among developers and DeFi and NFT projects. The prices of both cryptocurrencies are volatile, but BTC has a larger market capitalization, while ETH offers broader use cases. The choice between them depends on the goals: storing value (BTC) or innovative projects (ETH). Both remain key players in the cryptocurrency market.