Ethereum emerges as the biggest threat to Bitcoin

Financial markets are prone to speculations and cryptocurrency trading is no exception. Digital coin is backed by a blockchain, much like bitcoin, but the technology is slightly different and aimed at a specific use case: smart contracts. Many see it as a cryptocurrency with a real world use because of large companies that are experimenting with the technology. A consortium called the Enterprise Ethereum Alliance, which includes companies like Microsoft and JP Morgan, is looking to develop applications using the Ethereum blockchain.

Ether, the digital currency of the ethereum blockchain, made significant gains by being the second Most Valuable Cryptocurrency Behind Bitcoin and recognised as the world’s second largest blockchain. Ethereum is up over 13,000 percent in the last year with the price of an all-time high of $1,417.38 . Ethereum can be used to build financial applications that are fully trustworthy and transparent because they run on the blockchain.

Ethereum is an open software platform that, like bitcoin, is based on blockchain technology, enabling users to build decentralised applications. Found by Vitalik Buterin in 2015, Ethereum aims to allow users to make anonymous digital payments across international borders without the need of a traditional bank or third party. It is a platform that is specifically designed for people to build these kinds of decentralised applications.

The Ethereum clients, which we are calling the Etherbrowser, will include peer-to-peer messaging and a generalised blockchain with a built in programming language, allowing people to use the blockchain for any kind of decentralised application. Investors are pouring into cryptocurrencies like bitcoin and ether because of the lack of trust in financial institutions following the 2008 crash. The millennial interest in trading cryptocurrencies is hard to ignore, yet they are not the only ones interested in this market.

The competition for the coin is expected to become tougher in 2018 as new players enter the domain. There are already four different top runner digital currencies and they are Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple and Litecoin and their prices keep climbing up as well. As far as Bitcoin is concerned, there will only be 21 million Bitcoins in circulation, most of the holders of Bitcoin are long term holders. The demand on the other hand keeps soaring. 

Ethereum is the world's second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization behind bitcoin, with a value of $131.5 billion. Like bitcoin, Etherem can be “mined” but supplies are not infinite. Ether supplies are currently capped at 18 million, which is equivalent to about 25 percent of the initial supply. Ethereum network is kept running by computers all over the world. With all good things happening, ether could overtake bitcoin, probably before the end of the year.

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