The world’s two largest cryptocurrencies by market capitalization are locked in a tight race for dominance. For much of the past year, Ethereum (ETH) has been nipping at Bitcoin’s (BTC) heels, and at times, has even managed to overtake BTC in total value locked in DeFi protocols.
However, BTC still holds the lead when it comes to actual usage and adoption. But with Ethereum 2.
0 on the horizon, could that lead start to disappear Let’s take a closer look at how these two cryptocurrencies compare and whether Ethereum could start to flip Bitcoin in terms of overall usage and adoption.
Bitcoin vs Ethereum: Usage and Adoption
When it comes to usage and adoption, there’s no doubt that Bitcoin is still in the lead. While ETH is the native cryptocurrency of the Ethereum network and is used to power transactions on the network, BTC is used as a store of value and a way to transact outside of traditional financial systems.
This difference in usage has led to different levels of adoption. BTC is currently accepted by over 10,000 merchants worldwide and can be used to purchase a wide range of goods and services.
ETH, on the other hand, is mostly used by developers building applications on the Ethereum network.
However, there are signs that ETH is starting to catch up to BTC in terms of usage and adoption. In recent months, we’ve seen a growing number of businesses begin to accept ETH as payment.
And with the launch of Ethereum 2.0 just around the corner, we could see even more businesses start to use ETH as a way to transact.
Ethereum 2.0: A Game Changer for ETH
Ethereum 2.0 is a major upgrade to the Ethereum network that will bring a number of new features and improvements. One of the most anticipated aspects of Ethereum 2.
0 is proof-of-stake (PoS). PoS will replace proof-of-work (PoW), which is the consensus algorithm that’s currently used by Ethereum (and Bitcoin).
PoS is a more energy-efficient way to secure a blockchain network as it doesn’t require miners to use powerful computers to solve complex mathematical problems (as is required with PoW). This change could make it cheaper and easier for businesses to build on Ethereum, which could lead to more widespread adoption of ETH.
In addition, Ethereum 2.0 will also introduce sharding, which is a way to improve scalability by breaking up the data on the blockchain into smaller pieces (called shards).
This will allow the Ethereum network to process more transactions per second, which could make it more attractive for businesses that need fast and efficient transaction processing times.
The Bottom Line: Is Ethereum Flipping Bitcoin
It’s still too early to say whether Ethereum will be able to flipping Bitcoin in terms of overall usage and adoption. However, with Ethereum 2.
0 bringing major improvements to the network, we could see ETH start to close the gap with BTC in the coming months and years.