Ethereum (ETH) and Bitcoin (BTC) are easy to compare and contrast, given that they are the two biggest cryptocurrencies in the world. But how does Ethereum compare to Bitcoin’s main offshoot, Bitcoin Cash (BCH)? Both are decentralized applications. Both emerged in the same era of crypto history. Both remain worthwhile investments. But what about their differences?
While Ethereum remains near the top spot, Bitcoin Cash trails behind – although it still gets a lot of attention from investors. So, which is the best cryptocurrency to invest in, ETH or Bitcoin Cash?
In this guide, we’ll take a comparative look at both cryptocurrencies. In doing so, we’ll highlight all you need to know about each, including their history, purpose, and market value.
History
Although both Ethereum and Bitcoin Cash emerged at roughly the same time, the history of each coin looks very different. Let’s take a closer look:
Ethereum
Ethereum’s initial whitepaper was first issued in 2013. In it, Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin detailed his plans for the blockchain project. Back then, cryptocurrency was still in its infancy. Projects that used blockchain technology were still a new concept.
The idea was to create a crypto community, Ethereum coin, and exchange platform all in one. The goal was also to be the first platform to put smart contracts into the blockchain on a decentralized basis.
The idea started to gain traction around 2014 when Buterin announced his ideas at a Bitcoin conference. Around this time, he successfully recruited several other members to his team. ETH coins were first made available in 2014, and the Ethereum platform went live in 2015.
Bitcoin Cash
As suggested by its title, Bitcoin Cash started life as an offshoot of Bitcoin (BTC). In 2017, several Bitcoin developers fought to edit the code’s crypto. This was largely in response to Bitcoin’s small block size (more on this later). As more cryptocurrencies – such as Ethereum – began to emerge with larger block sizes, some developers feared Bitcoin was falling behind.
This led to a disagreement between Bitcoin developers to ensue. Some argued for editing the crypto’s code, while others fought against it. This culminated in a hard fork taking place. A ‘hard fork’ describes whenever a break in the blockchain has taken place.
With this hard fork, a new cryptocurrency was born: Bitcoin Cash. Today, both Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash operate on the Bitcoin blockchain. However, they are not the same coin.
Interestingly, Bitcoin Cash experienced its own hard fork in 2018. This led to the introduction of Bitcoin SV and Bitcoin ABC.
What Are They, And Why Were They Created?
Given the different origin stories, it’s safe to say that both coins were created for very different reasons.
Ethereum
The Ethereum platform was introduced to stand as a decentralized and open-source blockchain to allow for smart contracts to take place. On the Ethereum platform, investors of the ETH coin can create smart contracts and dApps without the interference of a third party.
With these smart contracts, Ethereum can be used in gaming, web browsing, finance, advertising, and supply chain management.
The Ethereum platform can also be used to exchange the Ethereum native coin, known simply as Ether.
Bitcoin Cash
The purpose of Bitcoin Cash was to correct all the limitations that regular BTC was facing at the time. It was never meant to stand as an independent coin. Bitcoin (BTC) can only process so many transactions at one time. Bitcoin Cash was accidentally invented to widen the number of transactions that could take place. In doing so, BCH was born.
Not only does Bitcoin Cash permit more transactions, but it also offers lower transaction fees than BTC. With a bigger transaction capacity, BHC is also arguably more scalable than BTC.
Price History
The price history of Ethereum and Bitcoin Cash is as follows:
Ethereum
An Ethereum coin is currently valued at $1,232.12 (As of December 7th, 2022, according to CoinMarketCap data). Ethereum was at the peak of its power between the years 2019 and 2021. The highest price it reached was $4,815, which occurred on November 9th, 2021.
The lowest Ethereum was ever valued took place throughout the entirety of 2015. This was when the coin was first sold. Throughout the entire first year, the coin never sold for more than $1.
Bitcoin Cash
Bitcoin Cash is currently valued at $112.03, according to crypto data found on Crypto.com. Since first being minted, Bitcoin Cash has experienced a rocky price history. The coin experienced its all-time high of $3,785 in December 2017. This contrasts significantly with the coin’s lowest point, which was $76.93 in December 2018 during the bear market.
Market Cap
The term market cap refers to the value of a cryptocurrency in its entirety. To determine the market cap, you need to add the value of all the individual coins together. The market cap of Ethereum and Bitcoin Cash is as follows:
Ethereum
Ethereum’s market cap is currently $148,414,568,527.
Bitcoin Cash
The market cap for Bitcoin Cash is currently set at $2,111,062,985.
Daily Transactions
The daily transaction figure reflects how many people are trading on a specific cryptocurrency network. The number of exchanges carried out is tallied up to create the daily transaction figure.
Ethereum
Ethereum is currently experiencing a daily transaction level of 1.049M, according to data gathered by YCharts.
Bitcoin Cash
The Bitcoin Cash network is currently seeing a daily transaction level of 262,438.
Block Size
The block size of a cryptocurrency determines how much data a crypto can support. Plus, the bigger the block size, the more transactions the crypto can support at one time.
Ethereum
Ethereum has a block size of 4 MB.
Bitcoin Cash
Bitcoin Cash has an impressive block size of 32 MB. The whole reason that Bitcoin Cash was established in the first place was that Bitcoin (BTC) had too small a block size. The block size of BTC is just 1MB – much smaller than BCH.
Similarities
There are several similarities between Bitcoin Cash and Ethereum, including the following:
- Widely accepted: Many merchants accept Ethereum payments as well as Bitcoin Cash payments.
- Scaling solutions: Both Ethereum and Bitcoin Cash were introduced as scaling solutions. At the time, many crypto investors were complaining about the lack of scalability in Bitcoin (BTC).
Differences
- Purposes: Bitcoin Cash is just a digital currency. Ethereum, on the other hand, is both a digital currency as well as a blockchain platform (the Ethereum Network).
- Contracts: Ethereum also offers smart contract power to its investors. Bitcoin Cash does not support smart contract power.
- Transaction fees: Ethereum has high transaction fees when compared to Bitcoin Cash.
- Block size: Bitcoin Cash has a much bigger block size than Ethereum.
Risks
As with all cryptocurrencies, there are a certain amount of risks involved with both Bitcoin Cash as well as Ethereum.
Ethereum
- Ethereum could move towards centralization. The cryptocurrency has been incorporating proof-of-stake in exchanges for a while now. There are now more staker validators than miner validators. This could end the decentralized appeal of Ethereum.
- Being the second biggest cryptocurrency, you’d have to make a considerable investment to gain anything from Ethereum. The bigger the investment, the more risk is involved.
Bitcoin Cash
- A cryptocurrency that supports bigger blocks is more at risk of being hacked. With more transactions going on at once, a hacker has a greater chance of being successful.
- Bitcoin Cash isn’t the most stable cryptocurrency. It has experienced several hard forks so far.
Where to Buy
You can buy Bitcoin Cash and Ethereum on the following platforms:
Ethereum
Bitcoin Cash
- Kraken
- Coinbase
- Bitfinex
- Poloniex
- HitBTC
Exchanging Ethereum for Bitcoin Cash
You should be able to exchange Ethereum for Bitcoin Cash on most leading crypto exchange sites. This includes the likes of Coinbase and Kraken.
Future Plans
Before you buy Bitcoin cash or Ethereum, consider the coin’s roadmap (if there is one). Examining what the future holds for the coin can inform you whether investing in it would be a good decision or not.
Ethereum
Ethereum is planning to maintain its foothold as the second-biggest cryptocurrency in the world. Although unlikely, the team behind the platform will strive to take the no.1 spot in the coming years.
In terms of Ethereum’s roadmap, the platform has several protocol upgrades scheduled. These updates will make the platform more secure, scalable, and sustainable. Potentially, Ethereum may also reduce its transaction fees.
Bitcoin Cash
At this point, it doesn’t appear that Bitcoin Cash will be making a big comeback any time soon. Over the past few months, the coin value has remained stagnant. Unfortunately, Bitcoin Cash has not revealed any solid future plans at this point in time. However, they’ll likely continue to undermine the original Bitcoin.
https://www.globaldata.com/data-insights/financial-services/ethereums-price-history/
https://www.sfox.com/blog/bitcoin-cash-vs-ethereum-comparing-a-currency-to-a-computer/
https://walletinvestor.com/compare/ethereum-vs-bitcoin-cash
https://cryptorunner.com/bitcoin-cash-vs-ethereum/
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