#BTCvsETH $XRP

Here is a brief comparison between *Bitcoin (BTC)* and *Ethereum (ETH)*:

| Item | *Bitcoin (BTC)* | *Ethereum (ETH)* |

|----------------------|----------------------------------------------|--------------------------------------------------|

| *Main Purpose* | Digital alternative to money / Store of value| Platform for smart contracts and decentralized applications|

| *Year of Launch* | 2009 | 2015 |

| *Founder* | Satoshi Nakamoto | Vitalik Buterin and a team of developers |

| *Maximum Supply* | 21 million BTC | Unlimited, but at a controlled inflation rate |

| *Consensus Mechanism*| Proof of Work (PoW) | Transitioned to Proof of Stake (PoS) in Ethereum 2.0|

| *Speed and Fees* | Slower and relatively higher fees | Relatively faster, variable fees (Layer 2 improvements)|

| *Use Cases* | Value transfer and storage | Smart applications, DeFi, NFT, Web3 games |

| *Institutional Adoption*| High as a store of value | High for Web3 and DeFi projects |