If you’re planning on investing in cryptocurrencies in 2024 you might be overwhelmed by all of the possibilities. There are several different cryptocurrencies available for investing. However, the majority of the market is ‘controlled’ by the leading two –Bitcoin and Ethereum. Now, the prices of these two per single ‘coin’ are very different. Bitcoin, at this moment, is almost 35 times more valuable than Ether, which is the native currency of Ethereum. Naturally, the price of a single unit is not the whole story and it isn’t the main reason someone should or should not invest.
There are numerous factors that are in play here. Even if you wanted to, you couldn’t keep up with all of them. The constant value fluctuation of a cryptocurrency is the main reason behind why you shouldn’t solely focus on the price. Trends can be sometimes deceiving. For instance, if you were to look at the skyrocketing increase in prices in 2017, you could assume that at this moment value of both BTC and ETH would be at least 10 times larger than they actually are right now. In reality, none of these two had eclipsed the maximum value it had reached in late 2017. If you compare the value both of these have at the moment, ETH has dropped over 60% in value compared to that period and BTC has dropped around 15%.
Now, to better understand it all, we should take a look at what both of these cryptocurrencies actually are. Even though they might seem similar for someone that has no experience or knowledge in this area – that is not the case. Ethereum and Bitcoin are fundamentally different. You can use both of them to complete financial transactions, but that’s probably where the similarities end. So, let’s talk about both of them for starters and then we will talk about whether ETH can dethrone BTC as the world’s leading cryptocurrency.
When it comes to Bitcoin, there are a few questions that are frequently asked. Should you invest in it? Will it ever eclipse the 2017 peak or is this it for the BTC? Is this the best investment for 2024? The answer to all of those questions is – we simply don’t know for sure. All you can do is work with the info you have. After you do your research, then you should decide whether to invest or not. Only then, you could speculate how much can you expect in return. Don’t invest blindly, there’s no luck involved when it comes to investing.
Now, with all this said, according to many world’s leading experts and crypto investors, BTC is still one of the safest options for investing in 2024. It’s been fittingly nicknamed ‘the king of cryptocurrencies’ because it has been the world’s best for over 10 years. Along those lines, there are not a lot of signs suggesting that it will not remain the ‘king’, at least for the time being. In fact, many experts predict that the next year could be the best one the Bitcoin has ever seen.
If you visit Bitcompare and look at the way the price is trending for the last couple of months, you could say that those claims are not that far-fetched. You can clearly see the steady growth in value from late March of 2024 since the price has nearly quadrupled over the last 7 months. Naturally, this trend cannot go on forever, meaning, it’s not realistic to expect BTC to hit $100,000 price point this time next year, however, some experts do feel like that, and even more is possible by the mid-point of the next year.
Now, the Ethereum is slowly, but surely catching up to the ‘king’. The market cap of ETH is a little bit over 40 billion USD at the moment, making it the second-largest cryptocurrency in the world. Many wonder is it possible for ETH to dethrone the BTC in 2024? Well, the experts are not sure about that, but they do feel like investing in it could be a very lucrative business move. At the moment, the Ether price is around $470. As you can see, that is nowhere near the price of Bitcoin.
However, when you take a look at the market cap – the difference isn’t that drastic. As we’ve mentioned, Ethereum’s market cap is a little bit over 40 billion dollars, whereas Bitcoin’s is closing in on 200 billion. As you can see, the BTC’s market cap is about 5 times greater, whereas the value of a single unit is almost 35 times as much compared to the ETH.
So, what do we mean when we ask is the Ethereum going to overtake Bitcoin in 2024? If we’re talking about the price of a single unit, chances are, that is never going to happen – at least that’s what experts are saying. Now, when it comes to the market cap, things aren’t that simple
There are few things brewing right now that should benefit the ETH’s case. The first one is the growth of decentralized finance, commonly known as DeFi. The Ethereum platform is tightly connected to the DeFi. Many cryptos that are operating within the DeFI sector are supported by ETH. This growth is one of the main factors that indicate a strong, steady future for the ‘prince’ of cryptocurrencies.
The second factor is something called Ethereum 2.0. this is essentially an update to the platform that will make everything ETH much more efficient. By efficient, we mean faster. That increase in processing speed could mean a huge rise in the price. Some not only predict the Ether eclipsing the peak value from 3 years ago, but they think it could reach well within the five figures.
One thing the experts are agreeing upon is that both of these should thrive in 2024 and the following years to come. As far as two of these switching places at the top of the food chain, no one can say for sure. Some believe that the change is bound to happen, others feel like the ‘king’ shall remain the ‘king’ forever. We can only hope for the best.
