Bitcoin VS Ethereum
What the hell is the difference?

I always seem to get asked this, so I thought I’d write a quick overview here, which I’ll then just link everyone too!
There is probably a million of these explanations out there, and some will be quite technical.
I’m going to keep this one simple, and I’ll try draw upon analogies that are easy to relate to..
***Note*** I may refer to Bitcoin as BTC and Ethereum as ETH. And yes; those symbols actually represent their respective currencies, not their actual protocols, but for the sake of shorthand, I’m going to use their “ticker” symbols.
Here goes…
What’s the same?
- They both operate on a form of blockchain technology (i.e.; open, decentralized ledgers)
- They both have their own “currency”, i.e.; The Bitcoin protocol uses bitcoin (btc) as it’s exchange medium, whilst Ethereum uses ether (eth).
- They’re both decentralized, meaning nobody owns them or controls them.
- They’re both “mined” as a process of validating the transactions inside the blocks (the ledger), and for the actual creation of their currencies.
- All transactions on either blockchain are completely transparent & visible to everyone.
- Both require no trusted 3rd party in order to operate or be validated.
- All transactions are pseudononymous, meaning mostly anonymous.
- Both have gone up in value, especially in the 2nd quarter of 2017, where we’ve seen rallies of up 100% — 5000%!
- Both will have an enormous impact on how we as humans transact, wether that’s transaction of currency, or any other form of transaction such as land titles, vehicles, concert tickets, you name it!
- Both appeal to the techies, to the curious, to the speculative, to the renegades at heart and to those who want to make an impact on the world.
What’s different?
- Supply. Btc has a diminishing supply, i.e.; every 4yrs the amount of btc able to be mined will halve, until it reaches 21m. Eth on the other hand doesn’t, and the same amount will be created each year — thus as a cryptocurrency, its more inflationary.
- Block Time. Eth block time is 14–15sec, whilst btc is is 10min. There are a number of remifications of this, but suffice it to say that eth can handle transactions faster than btc can.
- Flexibility. Btc is built with a primary purpose, i.e.; exchange. It’s straight forward & you cannot do much else with it, except vary the rules around the exchange (i.e.; 2 to sign, etc). Eth on the other hand is very flexible. It’s designed to allow the creation of smart contracts, and because it’s Turing complete, it basically runs like one big virtual computer than can execute programs (i.e.; smart contracts, etc).
- Security. Usually the antithesis of flexibility, and also the reason why btc is (mostly) seen as a more secure “currency” than eth.
There are also a number of technical differences which I will go further into in subsequent articles. The intent here was to provide a very simple overview of their differences.
Important Notes & Takeaways
- The most important thing to note is that they each perform a DIFFERENT function, using a similar type of technology.
- Which therefore brings us to the next important note: It’s not Bitcoin VS Ethereum — it’s actually Bitcoin AND Ethereum, just as much as there is Gold & Silver, or Apples & Oranges. It’s not about one winning over the other — they both serve their own function and they both are a store of value in & of themselves. (Note — the headline was more to catch your attention than anything else).

So if you’re interested in buying, investing or just getting involved & supporting these extraordinary new technology platforms, then do a little more reading on each & decide which you like more.
It may well be that you love them both (as I do) and want to hold both (as I also do) — and I personally thing that would be a wise move for the long run.
Hope you found this helpful.
Until Next time!
Thankyou
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