When deciding between two prevalent cryptocurrencies, it’s crucial to thoroughly analyze their past, present and future. In this article, we’ll detail Bitcoin and Polkadot, topic by topic.
History
Analyzing the history of a cryptocurrency will help you gain a better idea about its future based on past patterns.
Bitcoin (BTC)
BTC has had a long history from its beginnings to it becoming the most popular cryptocurrency globally. And while many believe that it’s the first cryptocurrency, that’s, in fact, far from the truth.
The first cryptocurrency was called eCash and was made in 1990 by DigiCash. And developers released the concept of it back in 1983. On the other hand, Bitcoin’s white paper was released in 2008.
Although Bitcoin is the first cryptocurrency to achieve this kind of success, it’s been a long road. It took quite a few years for the coin to reach its current value, and Bitcoin has had many long periods of stagnation, followed by highs and lows during bull markets.
Bitcoin was created by a developer who used the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto.
Polkadot (DOT)
Polkadot is much newer than Bitcoin, having been released on May 26, 2020. It was founded by Robert Habermieier, Peter Cazaban, and Dr. Gavin Wood. However, Dr. Gavin Wood released the white paper in 2016. Polkadot has been in the works for some time.
What It Does & Why It Was Created
While many may believe that cryptocurrencies serve no good function, this is far from the truth. Let’s go in-depth about why Bitcoin and Polkadot were set in motion.
Bitcoin (BTC)
Bitcoin was created while sharing the intentions of predecessors to make a completely decentralized exchange system. When the coin was created, the world was experiencing a financial crisis.
Bitcoin attracted a lot of attention from anarchists and libertarians who appreciated the concept of the currency as an escape from the state’s control. And although many think that the cryptocurrency has strayed from its original intention, it nevertheless set the precedence for future coins to build on.
Polkadot (DOT)
Polkadot is a multichain network, meaning it can join blockchains together. This also means that developers who opt to use the Polkadot network can build blockchains that can interact with others on the network. The Polkadot blockchain certainly is interesting.
The creators of Polkadot ultimately aim to create a decentralized web. As of the time of writing this, you can find quite a few blockchain projects on the Polkadot network. You’ll find several decentralized finance services, oracles (systems that connect blockchains to external clients), and bridges (this creates connections between blockchains).
Price History
As we all know, cryptocurrencies can seem quite volatile and inconsistent. But how bad is it, really? Let’s analyze the price history of BTC and DOT tokens.
Bitcoin (BTC)
Bitcoin has increased dramatically in price over the years since its release. Back in 2010, a computer programmer from Florida sold 10,000 bitcoins for a few pizzas. While at that time, these Bitcoins were valued at merely about $40. And now, you could get about 200 million dollars for them.
The currency would not see any significant change in price until 2013, when a single Bitcoin would be valued at hundreds of dollars, and even over a thousand dollars, at a point, in December.
BTC’s price would drop slowly until 2016, when it would begin elevating again. By the end of 2017, Bitcoin would be valued at nearly twenty thousand dollars per coin. Bitcoin wouldn’t achieve this kind of success again until 2020, closing it at nearly $30,000.
Only in 2021 would Bitcoin reach its infamously high peaks, valuing at over $60,000 at specific points in the year.
Currently, the currency is valued at around 19 thousand dollars.
Polkadot (DOT)
The price of Polkadot remains quite similar to its initial cost, and while it peaked several times during 2021, going up to $53.34 at one point, the cryptocurrency declined faster than it rose and has come down to about $5.84.
Market Cap
The market cap gives us an indication of the present dominance of a cryptocurrency. In the following paragraphs, we will explore the market cap of Bitcoin and Polkadot.
Bitcoin (BTC)
Bitcoin currently boasts the highest market capitalization of any cryptocurrency in the world. Currently, it boasts $365,221,738,315 in market cap. The cryptocurrency is a giant; even when compared to the second most popular crypto, Ethereum, it’s still more than double the value.
Polkadot (DOT)
Polkadot’s market cap puts it at twelve out of all the cryptocurrencies globally. Its market cap is $6,594,402,850.
Main Similarities
Both Bitcoin and Polkadot must be stored in a special wallet and traded on major crypto exchanges. And more interestingly, both bitcoin and DOT are unregulated and remain decentralized from the central bank and other regulatory bodies.
And while many might assume this is the norm for cryptocurrencies, many newer currencies want to be regulated. For example, the team of Cardano desires the coin to be regulated by the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC).
Main Differences
One primary difference between the two cryptocurrencies is that Polkadot boasts much lower transaction fees; however, because it uses a weighted fee system, it’s difficult to compare the two accurately. What we can say, however, is that the currency has cheaper network fees than Bitcoin.
And, while Polkadit can process up to 1,000 transactions a second, Bitcoin can process less than ten transactions each second. The slowness of trading Bitcoin is primarily because of the very complex mining and verification processes.
Speaking of verification processes, Bitcoin uses a proof of work system, which requires network validators to solve complex mathematical problems. Polkadot uses a proof of stake system; here, validators are selected based on their quantity of DOT token holdings.
Finally, while Bitcoin is capped at 21 million, after which no more Bitcoins will be able to be produced, Polkadot has no limit on the number of coins allowed to be made.
Risks
Unfortunately, cryptocurrencies are high-risk investments, but each comes with unique risks depending on many variables: let’s get into it.
Bitcoin (BTC)
Bitcoin has no external value. By this, I mean that Bitcoin’s worth is determined solely by the price traders sell it, and there is no asset to which it can hold its value. While many say that Bitcoin will continue to rise, the question remains, for how long?
Polkadot (DOT)
Polkadot will be subject to the highs and lows that most cryptocurrencies will experience; that’s always a risk. If included, DOT holders should always include cryptocurrency as part of a balanced investment portfolio.
Where You Can Buy It
So now that we’ve gone into close detail about these two coins, where can you buy them? Well, that’s what we’re going to look at next.
Bitcoin (BTC)
You can buy Bitcoin from various places, including various crypto trading platforms, applications, ATMs and even through face-to-face transactions.
Bitcoin is an extremely frequently traded cryptocurrency on platforms such as Coinbase, Binance, Kraken, eToro and Uphold.
Polkadot (DOT)
Like Bitcoin, Polkadot is available on many platforms, such as eToro, Crypto.com, Coinbase, and Binance. It can be bought and traded on different crypto exchanges with ease.
How You Can Exchange Bitcoin for Polkadot
Because of the massive value differences between Bitcoin and Polkadot, a single Bitcoin is valued at over three thousand DOT coins. Currently, the Polkadot to Bitcoin exchange range is 0.00032133 BTC.
You should be able to make the token sale on many trading platforms, such as SimpleSwap, a platform that allows you to exchange one cryptocurrency for another quickly (and simply).
Future Plans
So, what does the future hold for Bitcoin and Polkadot? And what plans do the developers have for these digital currencies? We aim to answer these questions next.
Bitcoin (BTC)
Bitcoin’s future is looking bright: the coin is expected to become the primary cryptocurrency used in international trade by the year 2030. And many projections put the currency at a very high value by that same year; some put it at close to a million US dollars.
By 2025, some predict that Bitcoin will be traded at over $100,000, and it might even drop to a lower $80,000 by 2025 year-end.
And although Bitcoin has veered from its original intention, the developers continue to support its growth. And it continues on its path as the largest cryptocurrency in the world.
Polkadot (DOT)
Polkadot is projected to increase in price by 2025, opening the year at the cost of $10.76 and later dropping to $9.38. Of course, these are just predictions, and it’s hard to say precisely what’ll happen to any crypto coin.
Sources:
https://www.daytrading.com/btc-vs-dot
https://www.coinbase.com/learn/crypto-basics/what-is-polkadot
https://www.investopedia.com/articles/forex/121815/bitcoins-price-history.asp
https://zipmex.com/learn/bitcoin-price-prediction/
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