$BTC
1. *Purpose*:
- *Bitcoin*: Created as a digital currency to be a means of exchange and store of value. Its main goal is to enable transactions without intermediaries.
- *Ethereum*: Designed as a platform for smart contracts and decentralized applications (dApps), allowing developers to build and run applications on its blockchain.
2. *Technology*:
- *Bitcoin*: Uses a proof-of-work (PoW) consensus mechanism, requiring computational power to validate transactions.
- *Ethereum*: Is transitioning to proof-of-stake (PoS) with Ethereum 2.0, which reduces energy consumption and improves scalability.
3. *Supply*:
- *Bitcoin*: Has a maximum supply of 21 million coins, giving it scarcity characteristics.
- *Ethereum*: Has no maximum supply limit, leading to debates about its long-term inflation.
4. *Community and development*:
- *Bitcoin*: Focuses on security and stability, with fewer changes to its protocol.
- *Ethereum*: Encourages constant innovation, with an active community that develops new applications and improvements.
In summary, Bitcoin is better known as a digital currency and store of value, while Ethereum stands out for its ability to support decentralized applications. Both play an important role in the cryptocurrency ecosystem but serve different purposes.