What is the best blockchain? Aiming at five cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple (XRP), Litecoin and Dashcoin, this article will draw forward-looking views by comparing different cryptocurrencies with Bitcoin, the cryptocurrency with the largest market capitalization in the world, so as to further mine the characteristics and value inside different currencies.
Bitcoin
Ethereum
Ripple (XRP)
Litecoin
Dashcoin
Comparison and outlook
Ethereum
In 2021, the value of ethereum increased fourfold in a year. This performance has exceeded bitcoin’s in the past 12 months and obtained a large capitalization proportion. This is undoubtedly closely related to the upgrading of Ethereum core protocol and the development of Ethereum Improvement Proposals (EIP). In addition, the vigorous development of decentralized finance (DeFi) is also an important driving force for Ethereum’s strong performance.
⮚ Differences
■ Bookkeeping methods
Bitcoin adopts UTXO mode, also known as Unspent Transaction Outputs. Every transaction in the Bitcoin network consists of an input and an output, and can be traced back to the source – money from the system rewarding miners. The end of the chain corresponds to UTXO. This chain constitutes the Bitcoin network.
Ethereum, on the other hand, uses an account model. The account model can quickly get the balance of the account, enabling it to save space. In addition, as each transaction can only have one input and one output, it has the advantage of implementing Turing-complete smart contracts more easily.
■ Smart contracts
Ethereum’s unique protocol called EVM, the Ethereum Virtual Machine, can improve the process of building decentralized applications by increasing the programmability and efficiency with which the network executes contract bytecodes.
■ Consensus
Bitcoin utilizes the SHA-256 algorithm, while Ethereum uses the Ethash Algorithm. Many people believe that the adoption of this mechanism will greatly reduce miners’ dependence on ASICs (application-specific integrated circuits)– a major breakthrough – because reliance on ASICs not only increases the energy consumption of mining, but also undermines the decentralization of Bitcoin.
■ Block times
When comparing transactions over the network, Ethereum is far ahead of Bitcoin. Bitcoin can only make about 7 transactions per second. However, Ethereum is capable of around 15 transactions per second. Furthermore, with the upcoming Ethereum 2.0 update, these capabilities will greatly improve.
BTC vs. ETH is a worthwhile discussion. It is important to note that Bitcoin has been in the market for much longer than Ethereum. The former launched in October 2008 and the latter in 2015.
But in reality, Bitcoin and Ethereum have different value drivers: Ethereum is value-driven by the diversity of activities it can support, while Bitcoin is growing because of the acceptance of its underlying savings payment technology by the global economy. As Mati Greenspan, founder and cryptocurrency analyst at QuantumEconomics, puts it, “Bitcoin and Ethereum are no less different than any two assets, apart from the fact that they are both digital currencies. They have vastly different capabilities in their respective networks, and each has a unique buy and sell pressure. ”
Ripple (RXP)
Based on the blockchain concept, the Bitcoin network is a public ledger of verified transactions and records. Miners continuously validate transactions and add them to the Bitcoin blockchain (which serves as the ledger for all activity in the entirenetwork). After successfully verifying a certain number of transactions, the miner (who has paid the time, as well as the computing power needed) will receive a Bitcoin reward.
XRP is a technology known primarily for its digital payment networks and protocols, in addition to the cryptocurrency Ripple (XRP), Ripple can even be called a payment settlement, asset exchange, and remittance system that works more like SWIFT, a service that serves a network of banks and financial intermediaries for international currencies and secure transfers.
Like Bitcoin, Ripple is a payment system based on the underlying technology of the blockchain.
The same is to do payments, but unlike Bitcoin’s goal, Ripple’s main goal is simpler, that is, to transform the cross-border remittance field, so as to make cross-border payments faster and less expensive.
Ripple’s value and role in the field of cross-border remittances have won the favor of many enterprises and financial institutions because of their simple purpose and excellent technical team.
⮚ Differences
■ Different “decentralized” designs
Bitcoin utilizes proof-of-work. It takes about 10 minutes to confirm a block. And the capacity of each block is limited, so the transaction speed has not been improved past7 transactions per second.
Ripple uses a different consensus mechanism to verify transactions. Ripple’s verification node is established by a trusted banking institution. And when the number of verification nodes that meet the standard is large, there will be no central institution that can control most of the nodes in the network. As a result, a limited number of trusted institution nodes validate transactions. This causes Ripple to be very fast, completing about 1,000 transactions per second. However, Ripple has also been criticized as a project with incomplete decentralization.
his difference in the “decentralized” design makes it different in both the processing time and cost. Bitcoin transaction confirmation can take several minutes and can require high transaction costs. While Ripple (XRP) transaction confirmation can be completed in a matter of seconds at a very low cost.
■ Mechanism
There is no mining or direct monetary reward for running ripple servers.
The Bitcoin network has been accused of consuming energy because of its mining system, while the Ripple system has no mining mechanism and consumes negligible power consumption.
■ Satisfaction of currency needs
Ripple network can send any currency and it has no redemption risk, so people can exchange any of their desired fiat currency.
Although Bitcoin is increasingly being used as a virtual currency by individuals and organizations, the Ripple payment system is more popular among banks. The Ripple System is better than the “Bitcoin Network” in terms of processing time and transaction fees. RippleNet is a consortium of more than 200 financial institutions in more than 40 countries in pursuit of simplifying cross-border payments. RippleNetwork continues to grow among financial institutions, an area where RippleNetwork is ahead of many digital currency competitors.
Bitcoin (BTC) is more widely and well-known than Ripple (XRP), which gives it an advantage in other ways too. Different from Bitcoin, which is a truly decentralized system, the Ripple network, though decentralized, is owned and operated by Ripple.
Both of the popular virtual systems have their own unique cryptocurrency tokens, and cater to different uses.
Litecoin
Litecoin is a currency based on “peer-to-peer” technology that helps users make instant payments to anyone in the world. Inspired by Bitcoin (BTC) and technically having the same implementation principle. Litecoin was created and transferred based on an open-source crypto protocol that is not managed by any central authority.
⮚ Differences
■ Transaction confirmation efficiency
Litecoin’s block growth is 4 times faster than Bitcoin’s. This means that Litecoin has a faster transaction confirmation efficiency.
■ Total amount
Since the reward for each block of Litecoin is the same as that of Bitcoin, the total amount of Litecoin is also 4 times that of Bitcoin, which is 84 million Bitcoin.
■ Computation requirement
The Future of Ethereum – Rebellion Research
Litecoin uses money-hard puzzles based on the Scrypt algorithm. The amount of computation required is slightly lower than Bitcoin, which is easier to mine and more suitable for GPUs to perform calculations. In addition, the operation of the Scrypt algorithm requires a lot of EMS memory. The inventors of Litecoin believe that this setting allows the mining rights of Litecoin to disperse in the hands of a large number of retail investors, rather than gradually concentrate and monopolize in the hands of large miners like Bitcoin. However, while avoiding mining is becoming a capital-intensive industry for a small number of people, the low finality problem caused by GPU mining also makes Litecoin more vulnerable to attack than Bitcoin.
■ Transaction charge
Bitcoin’s transaction charge is much higher than Litecoin’s, ranging from $0.257 (BTC) to $0.0027 (LTC).
So will Litecoin replace Bitcoin? As the official Litecoin website says, “Bitcoin is gold, Litecoin is silver”. As a type of altcoin, Litecoin cannot genuinely replace Bitcoin, but it is possible to survive as one of the dominant altcoins.
Dashcoin
Dash (DASH) is a virtual currency that supports instant transactions for the purpose of protecting the security of personal information. It is based on Bitcoin and has a unique two-tier network that can be detected and upgraded in all directions. Just like using cash, Dash can reasonably protect your financial privacy. When using Bitcoin, transactions are referenced in the blockchain, which you can find and push each other forward. In fact, Dash is based on secret name technology, which makes it impossible to track and query. Confidentiality is critical because all online customers have access to blockchains of data to search for transactions, which is undoubtedly a flaw for those who don’t want to disclose transaction details and financial privacy. Dash trades on the basis of the original blockchain technology cloud server “master connectionpoint”, which remains mysterious. The non-use of a third party reasonably prevents
the asymmetry caused by the intervention of a third party.
⮚ Differences
■ Transaction confirmation procedure
The most criticized aspect of Bitcoin is that the small amount of transactions need confirmation for a long time. After many times of improvement and optimization, Dash can now complete the operation of instant payment, which provides a very mature operating system in the process of transaction of Dash.
■ Anonymity of the transaction
In the transaction process of Bitcoin, every transaction in the Bitcoin network is open and transparent. Data information can be seen by all participants, the whole process can be directly traced, and the object of monitoring is relatively direct.
In the transaction process of Dash, the method of mixing coins is used, therefore, only the total amount of all transactions can be seen, and it is not possible to see the detailed information of each transaction, so the anonymity of the entire transaction of Dash is higher.
■ Management system
Dash has a two-tier network that monitors Dash transactions in a timely manner and constantly updates the system. Unlike Bitcoin, Dash can achieve the decentralization of technology and the centralization of currency operations management, thus reducing the previous concerns about the disorderly management of the decentralized management of Bitcoin, which is a prominent advantage of Dash.
■ Ability to resist shocks
Dash activates its own ChainLocks during the constant update process, which makes Dash more secure in terms of operation.
Although Dash’s current achievements are not much compared to Bitcoin. For currencies that can be both anonymous and can achieve instant payments conveniently and quickly. Dash’s future performance lies in the use scenario.
Conclusion
Market acceptance is an important consideration standard for the value of cryptocurrencies. As the cryptocurrency with the largest current market capitalization and trading volume. Bitcoin is the most accepted cryptocurrency in the market. Ethereum is second to it. In terms of development prospects, both Ethereum and Ripple have great potential to play a pivotal role in unique areas. As a giant in altcoins, Litecoin may survive the brutal altcoin competition, but it should not have the ability to replace Bitcoin. As for Dashcoin, since its release in 2014. The Dash Masternode Network has owned far over 5,000 masternodes, and the DashP2Pnetwork has become one of the largest networks in the world. Therefore, on the whole, Dash has great potential and high market activity, which is worthy of attention.
What is the best blockchain? References
https://www.securities.io/bitcoin-vs-ethereum-whats-the-difference/ https://freemanlaw.com/mining-explained-a-detailed-guide-on-how-cryptocurrency-mining-works/
https://www.investopedia.com/tech/whats-difference-between-bitcoin-and-ripple/ https://cointelegraph.com/news/a-fair-comparison-ethereum-growth-outpaces-bitcoin in-2021 https://www.forbes.com/advisor/investing/what-is-ethereum-ether/ What is the best blockchain?https://www.investopedia.com/tech/what-cryptocurrency-public-ledger/ https://www.investopedia.com/tech/what-dash-cryptocurrency/
