Although both $BTC and $ETH are currently down about 75% from their all-time highs (reached in November 2021), a few recent tweets and articles about these two cryptocurrencies have shown that the general perception in the crypto community is shows that the latter is probably a better long-term bet.
It’s hard to say definitively whether Ether (ETH) is a better long-term bet than Bitcoin (BTC). Both cryptocurrencies have unique characteristics and have performed well in the past, and ultimately it is up to individual investors to decide which one best suits their investment goals and risk tolerance.
One argument in favor of Ether as a long-term investment is its potential for wider adoption. While Bitcoin is primarily used as a store of value and medium of exchange, Ether has the additional use case of powering smart contracts on the Ethereum platform. This makes Ether an attractive investment for those who believe in the potential of decentralized applications (dApps) and the wider adoption of blockchain technology.
Another argument in favor of Ether is its strong developer community and support. Ethereum has one of the largest and most active developer communities in the cryptocurrency space, contributing to the continued evolution and growth of the platform. This strong community support can provide a level of stability and security for Ether investors.
However, it should be noted that Bitcoin also has a strong developer community and has proven to be a stable and secure cryptocurrency over the years. Bitcoin has the advantage of being the first and most popular cryptocurrency, which gives it a level of brand recognition and mainstream visibility that Ether does not yet have. Additionally, Bitcoin has a limited supply of 21 million coins, giving it a level of scarcity that can make it a more attractive store of value for investors.
On Thursday (January 5, 2023), Mike McGlone, chief macro strategist at Bloomberg Intelligence (Bloomberg’s research arm at Bloomberg Terminal) shared his thoughts on Bitcoin and Ethereum.
In the January 2023 edition of Bloomberg Intelligence’s Crypto Outlook report, McGlone (and two contributing analysts he worked with on this research) said:
“Ethereum’s bullish performance against Bitcoin has been and may be unshakable by deflation in most risk assets in 2022. At about 0.07, the Ethereum/Bitcoin cross ratio is about the same as it was in May 2021, when the Nasdaq 100 Stock index was about 20% higher.
“Our chart shows a continuous trend of cryptocurrency #1 coinciding with the rise of risky assets. The nearly 30% decline in the index in 2022 is part of a pullback stream, including a nearly 70% decline in Ethereum. Migration to the mainstream is our takeaway, and once the dust settles from some of the shifts in risk assets amid inflationary pressure, Ethereum looks more likely to continue what it’s been doing – for the better.“
If the Shanghai update goes well, “2023 could be a really big year for Ethereum and ETH,” says the pseudonymous host of cryptocurrency market analysis show Coin Bureau.
At Ethereum Core Devs Meeting #151 on December 8, 2022, a tentative timeline was set for the completion of the Shanghai update, also known as Ethereum Improvement Proposal (EIP) 4895, according to a report by The Block. This upgrade will allow users to withdraw their funds from the Ethereum blockchain, a feature not currently available. According to Cointelegraph, “the developers will aim to launch the Ethereum Improvement Protocol (EIP) 4844 update, which will introduce proto-danksharding to the network in May or June 2023.”
Last month, Coin Bureau released a video update (“Q&A: Predictions for ETH, BTC and the Crypto Market in 2023!”), and according to a report by The Daily Hodl, the host of the show had this to say: the upcoming Shanghai network upgrade and 2023 The general outlook for Ethereum in 2018:
“When they see that this ETH is not actually staked and can be easily sold, it may encourage them to actually distribute themselves. So I really think it could go either way. Now, if we see some selling, I wouldn’t be at all surprised if it goes down a little bit in the short term. But I think the future of ETH is so, so bright, and I think 2023 could be a really big year for Ethereum and ETH, assuming things like Shanghai, the merger, go smoothly...
“Price prediction, I don’t know… I don’t think we’ll see five-figure ETH in 2023, but I think it’s entirely possible. We could certainly see a scam, but I’m not sure. I expect a lot of sideways price action for ETH over the next year.“
On August 19, 2022, Raoul Pal, founder and CEO of Real Vision, said on Twitter that while he does not expect the price of Ether to reach “new lows” (ie, falling below $902 on June 18), it may “gut”. -check for quick drop”; However, he also noted that for him, the “new lows” mean he will buy more $ETH, as he finds Ether’s “2-year risk/reward” quite attractive.
Basically, Pal believes that $ETH could fall to the $800-$900 range at worst, but the upside is bigger as he expects the price of $ETH to reach $20,000 in the next few years, as he has said in the past. .
One prominent cryptocurrency analyst who agrees with Pal’s view that Ethereum will outperform Bitcoin in the next few years is Ben Armstrong, who told his more than 880,000 Twitter followers that he expects $ETH to have a higher market cap than $BTC by 2025:
Of course, there are those who believe that Bitcoin may actually be the best store of value, and as this idea spreads, the price of one bitcoin could easily reach $1 million in the next 10 years (something ARK Invest CEO Cathie Wood believes) and possibly $23 million ( as Blockware Solutions believes).
Regardless of which of these two cryptocurrencies has more upside potential in the long term, one thing that seems undeniable is that Bitcoin has greater regulatory clarity than Ether in the US, as both former SEC Chairman Jay Clayton and the SEC Gary Gensler, the current chairman of , has confirmed several times that they consider Bitcoin to be a commodity rather than a security, and therefore beyond their jurisdiction. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for Ether.
Aside from what William Hinman, the former director of the SEC’s Division of Corporate Finance, said in a speech in June 2018, the SEC’s position is that it has never stated in any official form that Ethereum is a commodity or a security, ie. it is possible (especially if Ripple Labs loses the ongoing lawsuit filed against it by the SEC in December 2020) that any day in the future the SEC may decide to declare it a security that could have a major negative impact on the price of Ether. because cryptocurrency exchanges in the US will have to delist it.
So while we can’t be sure which of these two cryptocurrencies is the better long-term bet in terms of profit potential, at this stage, with the lack of regulatory clarity currently available in the US, the safer long-term bet seems to be Bitcoin.
It is important for investors to carefully consider their individual goals and risk tolerance before making a decision. Investors can benefit from diversifying their portfolio by including both Ether and Bitcoin, as well as other cryptocurrencies and traditional assets. It is also important for investors to be aware of the inherent risks of investing in cryptocurrencies and to carefully research and understand the assets they are considering before making any investment.
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