Out of The Shadow
When someone says the word “cryptocurrency”, what is the first thing that comes to your mind? For me, it’s Bitcoin, and I’m sure it’s the same with you. Well, a small amount might think of Dogecoin, but we’ll put that to the side. Bitcoin was the first cryptocurrency, and it’s the most popular too with a market cap above 1 trillion dollars. However, as we all know, the original can be trumped by something new, like how Messi is more popular than Pele. In the world of cryptocurrencies, our Messi is Ethereum.
Ethereum is an intricate software platform that uses blockchain technology. Its currency is an ether, and like Bitcoin, it allows for digital payments through the blockchain platform. However, it’s unique as it’s a programmable blockchain, which means that it can be used as a marketplace for applications that everyone can see. Bitcoin is mainly used for investing purposes, but Ethereum is leading the charge in decentralized finance, which is a term for creating financial items like mortgages on the blockchain, essentially replacing banks and brokerages, who are the current middlemen. This is done through smart contracts, which are self-executing agreements between a buyer and a seller that are stored as lines of code in the Ethereum blockchain.
Those were a lot of terms, so let’s go to something y’all are familiar with: prices going up. Ether flourished during 2020, outpacing Bitcoin, but Bitcoin was more popular, so it got all the attention. However, 2021 is the year where Ether is running away. In the last few months, Bitcoin hasn’t been doing too well, continuing to stay around 55,000 with some movements here and there. The same cannot be said for Ether as it is up almost one hundred percent in the last month. A vital part of Ether’s run has been the explosion in NFT’s. That is a term you know, and for good reason too. Remember, Ethereum also acts as a marketplace, so NFT’s are exchanged on the Ethereum blockchain in the value of Ethers. Do you believe that Ethereum will topple Bitcoin? It sure looks like it with how Ethereum started 2021, but things can always change.
I am not a financial advisor and my comments should never be taken as financial advice. Investments come with risk, so always do your research and analysis beforehand.