{"id":332792,"date":"2021-08-31T16:14:00","date_gmt":"2021-08-31T13:14:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/the-great-crypto-flippening-can-ethereum-overtake-bitcoin\/"},"modified":"2021-08-31T16:14:00","modified_gmt":"2021-08-31T13:14:00","slug":"the-great-crypto-flippening-can-ethereum-overtake-bitcoin","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/the-great-crypto-flippening-can-ethereum-overtake-bitcoin\/","title":{"rendered":"# The great crypto flippening: Can Ethereum overtake Bitcoin?"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_85 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a30e696614d5\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a30e696614d5\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/the-great-crypto-flippening-can-ethereum-overtake-bitcoin\/#Not_a_done_deal\" >Not a done deal<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/the-great-crypto-flippening-can-ethereum-overtake-bitcoin\/#So_how_long\" >So, how long?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/the-great-crypto-flippening-can-ethereum-overtake-bitcoin\/#What_could_derail_Ethereum\" >What could derail Ethereum?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/the-great-crypto-flippening-can-ethereum-overtake-bitcoin\/#Are_Bitcoin_and_Ethereum_really_comparable\" >Are Bitcoin and Ethereum really comparable?<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<p>&#8220;<strong># The great crypto flippening: Can Ethereum overtake Bitcoin? <\/strong>&#8221;<br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/images.cointelegraph.com\/images\/840_aHR0cHM6Ly9zMy5jb2ludGVsZWdyYXBoLmNvbS91cGxvYWRzLzIwMjEtMDgvOTE1NGUzYmQtZjgwZi00MDJmLWFjM2EtM2RjZGMwZmM0YTQwLmpwZw==.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<div class=\"post-content\" data-v-128018ef>\u201cEthereum\u2019s ascent to the top of the cryptoverse seems unstoppable,\u201d declared Nigel Green in mid-August, and it\u2019s not hard to see why the deVere CEO thinks this. DeFi is on a tear, NFTs are mushrooming, Ethereum (ETH) remains more scalable than Bitcoin (BTC) and it also offers more uses including smart contracts. Moreover, Ethereum will soon move to a proof-of-stake (PoS) consensus algorithm, looking to be more eco-friendly than Bitcoin\u2019s energy-intensive proof-of-work (PoW) protocol.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEthereum is already years ahead of Bitcoin in everything but price and fame,\u201d said Green earlier this year, adding: \u201cThere\u2019s a real sense that 2021 is the year for Ether. Its time has come.\u201d But, is it really a foregone conclusion that the world\u2019s first, largest and best-known cryptocurrency is ready to relinquish its market-cap crown? Maybe not.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf you look at CoinMarketCap\u2019s homepage over the past five years, Ethereum is usually sitting in second position, right under Bitcoin \u2014 and it really hasn\u2019t moved from that number two spot in any permanent way since its launch,\u201d Molly Jane Zuckerman, content lead at CoinMarketCap, told Cointelegraph, adding: \u201cHistory shows us that there is only one cryptocurrency that can ever claim the \u2018king of the cryptoverse\u2019 title.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>So, is there a chance for a flippening \u2014 the term often used to describe a reversal of ETH and BTC? Are altcoins still benefiting from the light that shines upon Bitcoin or are they stepping out and becoming popular by themselves? Ultimately, can the two even be compared since they are seen to serve different purposes within the crypto and the wider finance space?<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Not_a_done_deal\"><\/span>Not a done deal<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>\u201cEthereum\u2019s eventual dominance is hardly a sure thing,\u201d commented Eswar Prasad, professor of economics at Cornell University and author of the soon-to-be-published book, \u201c<em>The Future of Money<\/em>.\u201d There could be technical complications with Ethereum\u2019s switch to the PoS consensus protocol, \u201cand there are many risks of attacks on DeFi products that could undermine confidence in those products and in Ethereum itself,\u201d he told Cointelegraph. <\/p>\n<p>Still, Bitcoin hasn\u2019t proven itself as an effective medium of exchange, added Prasad, and its blockchain has only \u201climited functionality\u201d compared with Ethereum, specifically when it comes to decentralized finance (DeFi): \u201cEthereum provides more flexibility, especially for DeFi products and services, and it has the potential to become a viable and efficient medium of exchange, featuring both low latency and high throughput for transactions.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Maybe Green went a bit too far, suggested associate professor of finance at the University of Western Australia Lee Smales. \u201cInevitable\u201d is a strong word, after all, he told Cointelegraph, \u201cbut, I\u2019d say it\u2019s highly likely that this will occur \u2014 although the recent rally in Bitcoin has outpaced that in Ethereum and has maybe delayed the timing a little bit. I would suspect it [flippening] h<a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>ens in the next two to three years.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"So_how_long\"><\/span>So, how long? <span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Many seem to be betting on Ethereum and the question is often: not if but when? Ether could surpass Bitcoin as the crypto world\u2019s top store of value in the coming years, <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/markets.businessinsider.com\/news\/currencies\/ether-bitcoin-price-outlook-store-of-value-ethereum-goldman-sachs-2021-7\">said<\/a> Goldman Sachs analysts in July, while deVere\u2019s Green put the flippening \u201cprobably within five years.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think it will be difficult for ETH to flip Bitcoin any time soon,\u201d Justin Hartzman, CEO and co-founder of Canadian-based crypto exchange CoinSmart, told Cointelegraph. \u201cThe next [BTC] halving is in 2024, which will inevitably push the price up. Also, keep in mind that \u2018Ethereum killers\u2019 like Cardano and Tezos are coming up big time. If they work out, they could siphon out a lot of potential market cap from Ethereum\u2019s kitty.\u201d If the trading of places does occur, \u201cI could see it potentially happening in five to six years.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t believe in terms of market cap and overall valuation that Ethereum will surpass Bitcoin,\u201d CEO of Banz Capital John Iadeluc told Cointelegraph, adding: \u201cBitcoin stands as the global \u2018introduction\u2019 to cryptocurrency, at least for the foreseeable future. For example, I don&#8217;t see any scenario where the SEC approves an Ethereum ETF prior to approving a Bitcoin ETF.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>Jason Peckham, an analyst at investment management firm Invictus Capital, told Cointelegraph: \u201cI disagree that it\u2019s inevitable. In fact, five years is enough time for an outsider to flip ETH and BTC both.\u201d A lot hinges on how the two crypto communities manage their regulatory challenges, he added, as well as internal factors, like the pace \u201cat which ETH has been burnt at post-EIP-1559,\u201d which should make it less inflationary and potentially more attractive to investors. He added:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\u201cIf I had to pin it on one thing, I would say that ETH needs the supercycle\/double bubble thesis to play out. That should allow for its various sectors to continue prospering in a way that won\u2019t be possible in a bear market, which would likely be bearish for ETH relative to BTC as we have seen historically.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Environmental factors must also be taken into account. Bitcoin mining\u2019s prodigious use of electricity has been long known, but when Elon Musk drew wider attention to it earlier this year, BTC\u2019s price plunged. While Bitcoin has rallied since then, \u201cthe energy [issue] continues to garner attention,\u201d said Smales, and that should only intensify. \u201cSo, the Ethereum move to PoS creates an additional advantage that could result in the flip occurring sooner.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_could_derail_Ethereum\"><\/span>What could derail Ethereum?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Green recounted that ETH had already gained 300% in 2021, compared with only 55% for BTC, and it has outperformed all other assets during the first half of the year. Is there anything that could halt its momentum?<\/p>\n<p>In order to stay in contention for flippening BTC, Ethereum needs to maintain its role as the biggest smart contract platform, however, some new competitors continue to emerge. \u201cPOS is not completely proven as of yet,\u201d said Smales, and it could evolve so that the market is dominated by a few very large players \u2014 essentially centralizing it \u2014 creating market frictions and possibly even higher transaction fees.<\/p>\n<p>The EIP-1559 upgrade was supposed to make Ethereum gas fees more manageable, but according to YCharts, the average gas fees have <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/ycharts.com\/indicators\/ethereum_average_gas_price\">reached<\/a> a three-month high. Given that the gas fees have placed a continuous strain on the usability of the network, the upgrade to Ethereum 2.0, or Eth2, cannot come soon enough.<\/p>\n<p>Moreover, Bitcoin isn\u2019t standing still, technologically speaking. \u201cThe planned Taproot upgrade could significantly enhance Bitcoin\u2019s efficiency, privacy and the functionality of its blockchain,\u201d said Prasad. <\/p>\n<p>Bitcoin also enjoys the \u201cfirst mover\u201d advantage which can be critical with networks. \u201cThe case for BTC&#8217;s dominance boils down to its superior Lindy Effect,\u201d Peckham told Cointelegraph, referring to a concept popularized by Nicholas Taleb which holds that the older a <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/technology\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"4\" title=\"Technology\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">technology<\/a> is, the longer will be its life expectancy. \u201cTogether with this is the long-term trend towards stronger-handed market participants holding the majority of Bitcoin while the rest of the world continues to be drawn into owning their stake in the headline cryptocurrency,\u201d added Peckham.<\/p>\n<p>Still, Ethereum seems to have momentum now. \u201cThe trends in the crypto markets have indeed been shifting towards Ethereum ever since the explosion of the DeFi summer, followed by the continuing popularity of NFTs,\u201d said Zuckerman, as Peckham added:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\u201cCohorts of users were drawn into Ethereum for DeFi and for NFTs, while Bitcoin is less diverse in its range of uses by comparison. Most of what crypto natives like myself are excited about in crypto right now is either built on Ethereum or an Ethereum competitor.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Ethereum has the richest ecosystem in the crypto space, and DeFi, which largely lives on Ethereum, today holds vast amounts in total value locked, despite the early summer downturn and assertions that DeFi was just a bubble with no inherent value.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDeFi had its strictest test yet and passed with flying colors. The number of DeFi users has already passed 3.25 million as utility and use cases increase every day,\u201d said Hartzman, adding: \u201cWith more applications and users coming in, Ethereum could leverage Metcalfe\u2019s Law and exponentially increase its overall network value.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Are_Bitcoin_and_Ethereum_really_comparable\"><\/span>Are Bitcoin and Ethereum really comparable?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Upon further reflection, though, does it even make sense to compare Bitcoin with Ethereum? One is a (putative) form of money, the other is a platform, a new supercomputer powering Web 3.0, upon which one can build new technologies, arguably.<\/p>\n<p>Right now, the two platforms perform different tasks. Once the effects of the Taproot upgrade come to the forefront and developers start constructing a DeFi ecosystem around the Bitcoin network, then that could turn into a whole new argument. For right now, however, Bitcoin is primarily a store-of-value while Ethereum is a decentralized application platform. \u201cThis is not a \u2018Coca-Cola vs Pepsi\u2019 debate. This is a \u2018gold vs internet\u2019 debate,\u201d said Hartzman.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBoth Ethereum and Bitcoin are cryptocurrencies, but vision-wise, they pursue two very different goals,\u201d added Iadeluc: \u201cI don\u2019t believe Bitcoin and Ethereum are in competition with one another; rather, I believe their respective growth compliments one another.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Related:\u00a0London\u2019s impact: Ethereum 2.0&#8217;s staking contract becomes largest ETH holder<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u201cFrom a technical standpoint, they are fundamentally different,\u201d stated Peckham, but from an investor\u2019s perspective, it does make some sense to compare them. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cBitcoin is unique as a store-of-value,\u201d said Hartzman. \u201cThere really is nothing quite like Bitcoin, and there won\u2019t be anything like it any time soon. However, having said all that, it is impossible to bet against Ethereum due to its incredible network value, rich community and pace of innovation.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Peckham told Cointelegraph: \u201cAs a trader right now, I\u2019m more optimistic about Ethereum in terms of price action. I think it will continue to offer superior upside to Bitcoin in a bull run.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Rather than picking a winner, though, \u201ca more realistic prospect,\u201d Prasad told Cointelegraph, is that \u201cover the next few years, Bitcoin and Ethereum cement their joint dominance of the crypto space while the competition between their adherents leads to innovations in both ecosystems.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><template data-name=\"subscription_form\" data-type=\"markets_outlook\"><\/template><\/div>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMLG0nwswvr63Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong>\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/news\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"2\" title=\"News\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">News<\/a> articles, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/general\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">General category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/news\/the-great-crypto-flippening-can-ethereum-overtake-bitcoin\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;# The great crypto flippening: Can Ethereum overtake Bitcoin? &#8221; \u201cEthereum\u2019s ascent to the top of the cryptoverse seems unstoppable,\u201d declared Nigel Green in mid-August, and it\u2019s not hard to see why the deVere CEO thinks this. DeFi is on a tear, NFTs are mushrooming, Ethereum (ETH) remains more scalable than Bitcoin (BTC) and it&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":332793,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/images.cointelegraph.com\/images\/1200_aHR0cHM6Ly9zMy5jb2ludGVsZWdyYXBoLmNvbS91cGxvYWRzLzIwMjEtMDgvOTE1NGUzYmQtZjgwZi00MDJmLWFjM2EtM2RjZGMwZmM0YTQwLmpwZw==.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[74867,74862,74937,74863,75326,74938],"class_list":["post-332792","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general","tag-altcoin","tag-bitcoin","tag-bitcoin-price","tag-cryptocurrencies","tag-ethereum-2-0","tag-ethereum-price"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/332792","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=332792"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/332792\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/332793"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=332792"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=332792"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=332792"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}