Eth vs bitcoin as a currency

There are also other ways to invest in crypto. These include payment services like PayPal, Cash App, and Venmo, which allow users to buy, sell, or hold cryptocurrencies. In addition, there are the following investment vehicles: Bitcoin trusts: You can buy shares of Bitcoin trusts with a regular brokerage account. These vehicles give retail investors exposure to crypto through the stock market.

Blockchain stocks or ETFs: You can also indirectly invest in crypto through blockchain companies that specialize in the technology behind crypto and crypto transactions. Alternatively, you can buy stocks or ETFs of companies that use blockchain technology.

The best option for you will depend on your investment goals and risk appetite. How to store cryptocurrency Once you have purchased cryptocurrency, you need to store it safely to protect it from hacks or theft. Usually, cryptocurrency is stored in crypto wallets, which are physical devices or online software used to store the private keys to your cryptocurrencies securely. Some exchanges provide wallet services, making it easy for you to store directly through the platform.

However, not all exchanges or brokers automatically provide wallet services for you. There are different wallet providers to choose from. Cold wallet storage: Unlike hot wallets, cold wallets also known as hardware wallets rely on offline electronic devices to securely store your private keys. Typically, cold wallets tend to charge fees, while hot wallets don't.

What can you buy with cryptocurrency? When it was first launched, Bitcoin was intended to be a medium for daily transactions, making it possible to buy everything from a cup of coffee to a computer or even big-ticket items like real estate.

Even so, it is possible to buy a wide variety of products from e-commerce websites using crypto. Here are some examples: Technology and e-commerce sites: Several companies that sell tech products accept crypto on their websites, such as newegg. Overstock, an e-commerce platform, was among the first sites to accept Bitcoin.

Shopify, Rakuten, and Home Depot also accept it. Luxury goods: Some luxury retailers accept crypto as a form of payment. For example, online luxury retailer Bitdials offers Rolex, Patek Philippe, and other high-end watches in return for Bitcoin. Cars: Some car dealers — from mass-market brands to high-end luxury dealers — already accept cryptocurrency as payment.

Insurance: In April , Swiss insurer AXA announced that it had begun accepting Bitcoin as a mode of payment for all its lines of insurance except life insurance due to regulatory issues. Premier Shield Insurance, which sells home and auto insurance policies in the US, also accepts Bitcoin for premium payments.

Cryptocurrency fraud and cryptocurrency scams Unfortunately, cryptocurrency crime is on the rise. Cryptocurrency scams include: Fake websites: Bogus sites which feature fake testimonials and crypto jargon promising massive, guaranteed returns, provided you keep investing. They may also use messaging apps or chat rooms to start rumours that a famous businessperson is backing a specific cryptocurrency. Once they have encouraged investors to buy and driven up the price, the scammers sell their stake, and the currency reduces in value.

Romance scams: The FBI warns of a trend in online dating scams , where tricksters persuade people they meet on dating apps or social media to invest or trade in virtual currencies. Otherwise, fraudsters may pose as legitimate virtual currency traders or set up bogus exchanges to trick people into giving them money.

Another crypto scam involves fraudulent sales pitches for individual retirement accounts in cryptocurrencies. Then there is straightforward cryptocurrency hacking, where criminals break into the digital wallets where people store their virtual currency to steal it. Is cryptocurrency safe? Cryptocurrencies are usually built using blockchain technology.

Blockchain describes the way transactions are recorded into "blocks" and time stamped. It's a fairly complex, technical process, but the result is a digital ledger of cryptocurrency transactions that's hard for hackers to tamper with. In addition, transactions require a two-factor authentication process. For instance, you might be asked to enter a username and password to start a transaction. Then, you might have to enter an authentication code sent via text to your personal cell phone.

While securities are in place, that does not mean cryptocurrencies are un-hackable. Several high-dollar hacks have cost cryptocurrency start-ups heavily. Unlike government-backed money, the value of virtual currencies is driven entirely by supply and demand. This can create wild swings that produce significant gains for investors or big losses.

And cryptocurrency investments are subject to far less regulatory protection than traditional financial products like stocks, bonds, and mutual funds. Four tips to invest in cryptocurrency safely According to Consumer Reports, all investments carry risk, but some experts consider cryptocurrency to be one of the riskier investment choices out there. If you are planning to invest in cryptocurrencies, these tips can help you make educated choices.

Research exchanges: Before you invest, learn about cryptocurrency exchanges. Do your research, read reviews, and talk with more experienced investors before moving forward. Know how to store your digital currency: If you buy cryptocurrency, you have to store it. You can keep it on an exchange or in a digital wallet. While there are different kinds of wallets, each has its benefits, technical requirements, and security.

As with exchanges, you should investigate your storage choices before investing. Diversify your investments: Diversification is key to any good investment strategy, and this holds true when you are investing in cryptocurrency.

Don't put all your money in Bitcoin, for example, just because that's the name you know. There are thousands of options, and it's better to spread your investment across several currencies. Prepare for volatility: The cryptocurrency market is highly volatile, so be prepared for ups and downs. You will see dramatic swings in prices. DApps built on Ethereum can be developed for a variety of purposes including finance, gaming and social media.

As the native currency on the Ethereum platform, ETH is needed to run dApps on the global computer that is the Ethereum blockchain. Ethereum was launched in as an upgrade to the perceived limits of Bitcoin. Its use cases provided more opportunities for developers to create new applications, so it eventually became a separate and competitive entity. Ethereum was created by Vitalik Buterin, and the foundation is currently the most actively developed blockchain project in the world.

Similarities Between Bitcoin and Ethereum Both Bitcoin and Ethereum are powered by their respective blockchains using proof of work consensus to validate transactions. Ether and Bitcoin are the cryptocurrencies that enable these decentralized networks, and both of these assets have a limited supply.

However, Bitcoin's supply is finite, and no more than 21 million will ever be issued. Once Ethereum 2. Ethereum 2. Another similarity between Bitcoin and Ethereum is network adoption. These networks have much more users than other cryptocurrencies, making them the 2 most valuable cryptocurrencies by market capitalization. While Bitcoin has more institutional adoption, Ethereum has a larger active user base and transacts far more volume than Bitcoin on a daily basis.

Both cryptocurrencies have widespread adoption, so these networks should have strong staying power as the blockchain industry matures. Differences Between Bitcoin and Ethereum Bitcoin was built to do one thing well — provide a way for people to transfer value from one to another without a central bank. Ethereum was built as a general purpose blockchain, allowing for limitless functions through its smart contracts.

As a result, Ethereum is able to do many things well instead of serving solely as a store of value.

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Bitcoin Bitcoin was launched in January It introduced a novel idea set out in a white paper by the mysterious Satoshi Nakamoto —Bitcoin offers the promise of an online currency that is secured without any central authority, unlike government-issued currencies.

There are no physical bitcoins, only balances associated with a cryptographically secured public ledger. Although Bitcoin was not the first attempt at an online currency of this type, it was the most successful in its early efforts. As a result, it has become known as the predecessor to virtually all cryptocurrencies that have emerged over the past decade. Over the years, the virtual, decentralized currency concept has gained acceptance among regulators and government bodies.

Ethereum Blockchain technology is being used to create applications that go beyond just enabling a digital currency. Launched in July , Ethereum is the largest and most well-established, open-ended decentralized software platform. Ethereum enables building and deploying smart contracts and decentralized applications dApps without downtime, fraud, control, or interference from a third party.

To accomplish this, Ethereum comes complete with its own programming language that runs on a blockchain. The potential applications of Ethereum are wide-ranging and are powered by its native cryptographic token, ether commonly abbreviated as ETH. In , Ethereum launched a presale for ether, which received an overwhelming response. Ether is used mainly for four purposes: It is traded as a digital currency on exchanges, held as an investment, used to purchase goods and services, and used on the Ethereum network to pay transaction fees.

Key Differences While both the Bitcoin and Ethereum networks are powered by the principle of distributed ledgers and cryptography, the two differ technically in many ways. For example, transactions on the Ethereum network may contain executable code, while data affixed to Bitcoin network transactions is only used to record transaction information. The Bitcoin and Ethereum blockchains and networks are different concerning their overall aims.

Bitcoin was created as an alternative to national currencies and thus aspires to be a medium of exchange and a store of value. Ethereum was intended as a platform to facilitate immutable, programmatic contracts and applications via a global virtual machine. Proof of Work vs.

Proof of Stake Bitcoin uses a consensus protocol called proof of work PoW , which allows the network nodes to agree on the state of all information recorded and prevent certain types of attacks on the network. In September , Ethereum moved to proof of stake PoS , a set of interconnected upgrades that will make Ethereum more secure and sustainable. To address issues regarding scalability, part of the transition to proof of stake is sharding, which will continue to be addressed through A major criticism of proof of work is that it is highly energy-intensive because of the computational power required.

Proof of stake substitutes computational power with staking—making it less energy-intensive—and replaces miners with validators, who stake their cryptocurrency holdings to activate the ability to create new blocks. Purposes BTC and ETH are both digital currencies, but the primary purpose of ether is not to establish itself as an alternative monetary system but to facilitate and monetize the operation of the smart contract, dApps, and any other blockchain solution that can be thought of.

Sorry hackers. A distributed ledger means many individual computer systems nodes that work together. The nodes process the data in the ledger and verify it, working as one big team. This way, it is impossible for a fake transaction to be verified, as it would need the consensus the group agreement of the blockchain.

Distributed ledger stores verified blocks. It is shareable and downloadable by all other nodes on the network. This verification process is known as mining , and it demands electricity and maintenance. This is the foundation of a typical cryptocurrency ecosystem. The exact number of Bitcoin nodes is unknown, but some sources estimate it to be upwards of ,! Imagine trying to hack half of that! For more on blockchain technology, check out our " Blockchain Explained " guide.

Did you know? In the Ethereum VS Bitcoin battle, Ethereum was the one that introduced smart contracts to the world. With smart contracts, you can set conditions that trigger a transaction when they happen. As the smart contracts on Ethereum are powered by the blockchain, developers can create applications that never go offline and cannot be edited by third parties.

Imagine if we had this power with the regular contracts we currently use as part of our everyday lives! These are just two of the countless available examples, though. A good way to think of smart contracts is to imagine purchasing a house. Usually, this process requires third parties, such as a lawyer and a broker.