What is Ethereum (ETH)? What's the difference from Bitcoin (BTC)? Table of Contents

What is Ethereum (ETH)?

It’s impossible after spending so much time in the world of cryptocurrencies and blockchain without hearing about Ethereum or, for short, ETH. In this article, you will learn what Ethereum is, what makes Ethereum different from others, and why Ethereum is better than Bitcoin, at least for certain purposes.

Strictly speaking, Ethereum is an open-source software platform based on blockchain technology, which allows developers to build decentralized applications which are also called dApps. However, Ethereum is also used to refer to the Ether coin (ETH,) a cryptocurrency made on the Ethereum platform. When someone talks about buying, trading, or paying with Ethereum, they mean the Ether currency.

How to buy Ethereum with a Debit/Credit card?

What’s the history of Ethereum?

Ethereum’s story begins with Vitalik Buterin, who was a Bitcoin programmer at the age of 17 in 2011. Buterin became aware of Bitcoin’s shortcomings and created Ethereum as superior blockchain technology.

I thought [those in the Bitcoin community] were not addressing the problem in the right way. I thought they were looking for individual applications; they were trying to explicitly support each [use case] in some sort of multi-function protocol. – Vitalik Buterin, co-founder of Ethereum.

Ethereum history timeline:

  • 2013: Buterin published a white paper describing the basics of Ethereum.
  • 2014: Buterin and the other co-founders funded Ethereum through an ICO that raised over $ 18 million.
  • 2015: The first live version of Ethereum known as Frontier was launched.

What are the features of Ethereum technology?

What is the purpose of Ethereum?

Ethereum is a blockchain platform, designed to enable a large variety of functions. A very trivial comparison could be: if Bitcoin is email, then Ethereum is the entire internet.

Ethereum is used for dApp-based IT services and smart contracts, saving time and money by eliminating inefficient intermediaries, third-party brokers, and monopolies such as large corporations or even government authorities.

In essence, it follows Bitcoin’s decentralized philosophy but is applied to much more than just money.

How do Ethereum, Ether and Smart Contracts work?

In which languages ​​is Ethereum written?

Since the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) functions as a “world computer” with many nodes, it actually uses multiple programming languages ​​including C ++, Python, Ruby, Go, and Java. A specialized language called Solidity is used to write smart contracts in the Ethereum Virtual Machine.

What is a Hard fork of ETH?

In 2016, $ 50 million worth of Ether was stolen by a hacker, an act that raised concerns about the platform’s security. The resulting controversy divided the community and Ethereum was split into two blockchains: Ethereum (ETH) and Ethereum Classic (ETC).

What is Etehereum’s dApps building platform?

What is ETH token?

Ethereum not only owns the Ether (ETH) cryptocurrency, but also the Ether token. The latter can function as a currency within the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM). ETH tokens are transferred within the EVM to execute smart contracts.

What is a smart contract on Ethereum?

A smart contract is a computer program that functions like a contract, meaning that it binds individuals and/or businesses to comply with obligations.

The smart contract code automatically executes the terms when the tokens are deposited.

The advantages are:

Digital:
No need to print or send paper, easily shared.
Autonomous:
Eliminates intermediaries.
Trust:
Smart contract information is encrypted and backed up to a shared ledger.
Security:
Encryption makes contract information incredibly difficult to steal.
Speed:
Automatic execution makes smart contracts faster.
Cost:
Savings on paper costs, legal fees, etc.

Smart contracts act as multi-signature accounts and are only executed if the indicated percentage of the parties involved agree.

Smart contracts can be encoded on any blockchain, but developers working on Ethereum can program smart contracts with a much wider range of instructions than is possible on Bitcoin. This allows Ethereum’s smart contracts to be more complex and versatile. They can serve as the basis for a decentralized application or other autonomous functions on the blockchain.

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Why is Ethereum better than Bitcoin?

ETH has several advantages over Bitcoin. It is not limited in the same way as BTC. Regarding the way Ethereum is mined, ETH uses the Ethash method. As a result, the block processing speed is faster.

So what is the difference between Bitcoin and Ethereum?

BTC 0.0888 BCH
Limit of coins 21 million None
Algorithm SHA-256 Ethash
Average time per block 10 minutes 12 seconds

However, the main advantage of Ethereum over Bitcoin is the functions. Bitcoin can only record transactions. Ethereum powers apps that can be used for almost anything the programmer wants.

Invest in Ethereum online

What is an ETH wallet?

An Ethereum wallet is where the private keys to access the cryptocurrency are stored. AltumBrokers’ cryptocurrency trading platform comes with a built-in ETH wallet, where you can earn 10% annual interest on your currency.

How to create an ethereum wallet on MyEtherWallet portal?

What is margin trading of Ethereum?

Ethereum is the cryptocurrency with the second largest market share after Bitcoin. Ethereum also has the second-highest trading volume among cryptocurrencies. Using AltumBrokers, traders can earn significant bonuses and rewards for trading Ethereum.

ethereum-coin-market-cap

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What is Ethereum Mining?

Ethereum is currently “mined” via a proof-of-work algorithm. Just like Bitcoin, Ethereum miners dedicate their processing hardware to solving activities that support the blockchain and receive ETH in return.

What is the hashrate for Ethereum mining?
How often ETH’s mining hardware is able to process hashes determines the likelihood of earning a reward.

A hashrate of around 45.0 MH / s is considered good for a consumer GPU. However, the entire mining system may soon become irrelevant to Ethereum.

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What is the future of Ethereum?

Ethereum will update in the near future, with the upgrade to Ethereum 2.0 scheduled for 2020. The main feature is a shift from proof-of-work validation to proof-of-stake validation.

Ethereum 1.0 is a poor attempt by a couple of people to build a world computer; Ethereum 2.0 [with PoS] will actually be the world computer – Vitalik Buterin
The current system is notoriously a waste of energy. A proof-of-stake protocol implies that users “stake” their ETH as collateral to verify a transaction (and claim the reward).

Ethereum’s current value is $ 188 and it continues to hold second place on Bitcoin in the cryptocurrency trading market. However, the usefulness of the Ethereum platform and the improvements made to version 2.0 should keep it as a major player in the cryptocurrency market and broader technology sector.

How to buy Ethereum with a Debit/Credit card?