Since the inception of cryptocurrency in 2009 with Bitcoin, an exorbitant amount of other cryptocurrencies have developed numbering more than 8,000.
However, none have seemed to come close to surpassing the originator in value. Though ETH, the cryptocurrency of Ethereum, comes in second, the question remains if Bitcoin will ever be knocked off the top of the crypto chain and a new crypto champion will reign.
Ethereum could one day be worth more than Bitcoin. In fact, many believe that the time is now and 2024 is Ethereum’s year to knock Bitcoin off the top. Ethereum has been slowly but surely rising to the top with a 466% growth in price in 2021 alone and a market cap of approximately $450 billion.
However, with Bitcoin’s market cap still far ahead at $900 billion, how can Ethereum hope to catch up? With a market that is still being questioned in terms of risk and unpredictability, there is a lot of room for doubt.
Still, there are some solid factors to consider when predicting that Ethereum will surpass Bitcoin in value. Keep reading to discover what may lead to Ethereum becoming more valuable than Bitcoin.
How Will Ethereum Surpass Bitcoin in Value?
Ethereum saw exponential growth in 2021 and there is no reason to doubt that 2024 will be yet another year of tremendous growth. After all, in comparison to Ethereum’s percentage in price increase, Bitcoin was only up by 70% by the end of 2021.
That is a 396% difference in the price increase.
With such a staggering difference in price increase at the end of last year, there is no telling how far Ethereum will increase or how much the gap between the two cryptocurrencies will grow. In fact, several factors support the theory.
- dApp Projects
- Faster Transaction Times
- Energy Efficiency
Taking a look at each one of these points will give a better understanding as to why these predictions have gained some much surety and traction within the crypto community.
Keep in mind that there are no guarantees when it comes to these predictions, just a hypothesis based on current trends.
dApp Projects
The Ethereum blockchain hosts a variety of dApps or decentralized applications in addition to Ether. Some of the most widely-known and used of these are DeFi (decentralized finance) and NFT (non-fungible token) marketplace.
Furthermore, there is the potential for more projects to be developed and added to the blockchain. With that being the case, there is endless room for growth when it comes to Ethereum, specifically because all these dApps use Ether as the currency, which is seen on sites like OpenSea, which is a platform for selling NFTs.
The more these dApps grow in popularity the more Ethereum benefits. The Ethereum blockchain uses something called smart contracts, which are computer programs that are entirely self-executing and do not require regulation to be enforced.
Due to this an array of applications can be created in a number of industries like real estate or finance.
Faster Transaction Times
Ethereum 2.0 will result in remarkably faster transaction times, unlike its counterpart Bitcoin, which is known for being one of the slowest cryptocurrencies in the market.
Ethereum can currently process anywhere between double to six times the amount of the transactions that Bitcoin can per second.
Once the update for Ethereum 2.0 rolls out those transaction times, which are already significantly faster, will only increase leaving Bitcoin processing in the dust.
It is predicted that after the update Ethereum will be able to process 100,000 transactions per second. No doubt with such a staggering difference in convenience, Ethereum will become more widely used.
Energy Efficient
One of the biggest drawbacks to Bitcoin at the moment is its effect on the environment due to the amount of energy that is required to carry out the PoW (proof of work) mining protocol.
The reasoning is that the process involves a number of powerful computers that are tasked with solving complicated puzzles in order to authenticate transactions.
Though Ethereum currently uses the same protocol, there are efforts to move away from this process in favor of the PoS (proof of stake) model.
In fact, Ethereum 2.0 update promises this transition which means a significant drop in energy usage. This is due to the fact that the model requires a percentage of any user’s crypto holdings in order to authenticate transactions.
I’m talking about a 99.9% energy drop from the PoW protocol to the PoS model.
What Could Kick Ethereum Off Track?
Ethereum has the momentum for the moment, but that does not mean that its competitors, including Bitcoin, aren’t on its tail.
In fact, there are talks about Bitcoin, among other competitors, moving toward their own version of smart contracts in order to allow developers the same freedoms with applications that Ethereum currently has.
The update to Ethereum that promises faster transaction times and more environmentally-friendly processes has been delayed a few times and can not come fast enough in order for Ethereum to continue on its upward trajectory.
The upgrade also promises lower gas fees, which is sorely needed since around August of 2021 gas fees were at a three-month high. This has put a hamper on usability and could potentially slow down Ethereum’s momentum.
It still begs to be seen what other cryptocurrencies will come out with in 2024 in order to give them a leg up on the competition.
Will Ethereum Pass Bitcoin in Value?
The future of Ethereum is still anyone’s guess, though there have been some strong predictions made and data to support those predictions, markets change all the time and will continue to do so.
Where Ethereum stands now is still behind Bitcoin and though Bitcoin has slowed down a pace, there is no telling how that will change.
It is certain that Bitcoin has no intention of being left behind in this race; and all the advantages that Ethereum has now may become obsolete in the near future if Bitcoin and other competitors have anything to say about it.
