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ethereum

Can Ethereum Become the World’s Biggest Cryptocurrency?

Published On: November 12, 2022
Ethereum is a blockchain-based platform for developing decentralized applications (dApps), which are programmed to run on its network without human intervention. It was created in 2015 by Vitalik Buterin. Since then, Ethereum has grown rapidly as the most popular smart contract platform on the planet.

Ethereum is one of the most widely used cryptocurrencies, with over billions of dollars worth of transactions. Now that we know what Ethereum is and how Ethereum works, let's see if Ethereum can become the world's largest cryptocurrency, surpassing Bitcoin itself.

What Is Ethereum - Basic Explanation

Ethereum is a decentralized computing platform based on blockchain technology. It was originally launched as a platform for creating smart contracts and dApps. These are programs designed to automate some part of their interactions with other parties. It allows users to create new programs called "smart contracts," which can be written by anyone, even those not familiar with coding. 

In this way, the program is self-executing, meaning it will automatically perform the functions specified when triggered by certain events. Once the contract is ready, it will need to be deployed on the Ethereum network. 

When it gets deployed, the developers will have to pay a gas fee through Ether (ETH). This ETH token is the currency for the whole ecosystem and is required to pay transaction fees. Every time someone uses the contract, they will pay a gas fee for the Ethereum blockchain to confirm the transaction.

A smart contract is basically the code logic behind Dapps (decentralized applications). Dapps are applications that exist entirely within the blockchain. Instead of using a centralized server, each Dapp runs on the decentralized Ethereum network. This means that all the data stored on the app is encrypted, and there is no central point of failure.

In summary, Ethereum is a platform for building decentralized applications (Dapps) and creating smart contracts. Read also our centralized vs decentralized article to understand why having applications on decentralized blockchain is very important for the future of our tech world.

How Can Ethereum Grow and Become More Popular?

There are two main factors that make Ethereum so interesting to people. First, unlike the current centralized financial institutions, Ethereum is completely free from government control. Anyone can launch a dApp on the Ethereum platform without having to register themselves or any company. This makes Ethereum appealing to everyone who wants to develop their own business. 

Secondly, Ethereum is different from Bitcoin because Bitcoin is often seen as digital gold, while Ethereum is a platform for developing decentralized applications.

Ethereum can continue growing into a bigger market share if the current market recovery trend continues.

Both of them can actually co-exist with each other, with Bitcoin being the 'digital gold' whereas Ethereum is used as the universal platform to create dapps.

Use Cases of Ethereum

The best use case for Ethereum lies in its ability to provide a fast, cheap, and secure transaction settlement layer between different systems and businesses. 

For example, it could help you transfer money instantly between different Ethereum wallet addresses. Imagine if you had to wait several days to get your money deposited back after withdrawing it from your bank account. With Ethereum, you would only have to wait a few minutes before you would get your money transferred back. This is possible because Ethereum can process a lot of transactions per second.

Another great use case, as mentioned above, is the development of dApps. Imagine if you could build a decentralized version of financial applications, but everything has to be confirmed by the blockchain. This is what people have been doing with Ethereum. They deploy smart contracts and let everybody interact automatically with them.

Ethereum vs. Bitcoin

Bitcoin and Ethereum are similar in many ways. They both use cryptography methods to protect their chains. However, there are important differences between the two. For instance, Ethereum has the ability to build smart contracts while Bitcoin cannot do so natively.

Another big difference is that Bitcoin is forever stuck with a proof-of-work consensus algorithm while Ethereum has transitioned to proof-of-stake, where it has helped Ethereum's energy consumption to be significantly lower. Learn more from our Ethereum Merge article if you want to read how the transition happened and what changes were made.
When people think about Ethereum, they usually associate it with Bitcoin. However, Ethereum is actually the one that allows blockchain use cases to grow beyond money transfer.

Can Ethereum Become Bigger Than Bitcoin?

There is no doubt that Ethereum has made a huge leap forward in the past couple of years. However, it remains the second most popular crypto behind Bitcoin in terms of market capitalization. According to CoinMarketCap, Bitcoin remains the most valuable cryptocurrency in the world, while Ethereum remains in second place. This has been the case for years.

However, Ethereum is catching up quickly and may one day overtake Bitcoin. This event is usually referred to as "flippening," where Ethereum will overtake Bitcoin's spot as the king of cryptocurrencies. Nevertheless, many people believe that Bitcoin will remain the king for the next decade.

There are many reasons why the Ethereum market cap is going to keep rising in the coming years. One reason is that it is becoming easier to develop dApps on the Ethereum network as the Ethereum blockchain itself will become better and faster.

Finally, the rise of the crypto market has contributed significantly to the growth of Ethereum. Even though Bitcoin has been the king of crypto markets for quite some time now, Ethereum looks set to take over as the dominant cryptocurrency. Let's see.
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