What is the difference between Bitcoin and Ethereum?

Bitcoin and Ethereum are the two most well-known cryptocurrencies, but they were created with different goals and have distinct features

1. Purpose & Vision

Bitcoin (BTC): Created in 2009 by Satoshi Nakamoto as a decentralized digital currency. Its main goal is to serve as a store of value and peer-to-peer payment system, often called “digital gold.”
Ethereum (ETH): Launched in 2015 by Vitalik Buterin and others, it goes beyond payments. Ethereum is a programmable blockchain that enables smart contracts and decentralized applications (dApps).

2. Technology

Bitcoin: Uses a relatively simple scripting language, mainly for secure transactions. Its blockchain is designed to be stable and resistant to change.
Ethereum: Has its own programming language (Solidity) for writing smart contracts, making it much more flexible for developers.

3. Speed & Scalability

Bitcoin: A new block is added roughly every 10 minutes. It handles about 7 transactions per second.
Ethereum: Faster block times (around 12 seconds) and higher throughput, though still limited. Ethereum 2.0 (proof-of-stake upgrade) improves scalability.

4. Consensus Mechanism

Bitcoin: Uses Proof of Work (PoW), requiring miners to solve cryptographic puzzles.
Ethereum: Started with PoW but transitioned to Proof of Stake (PoS) in 2022 ("The Merge"), reducing energy use by over 99%.

5. Supply

Bitcoin: Capped at 21 million coins, making it scarce like gold.
Ethereum: No fixed cap; instead, ETH supply can grow, but with burning mechanisms (introduced with EIP-1559) that may make it deflationary over time.

6. Use Cases

Bitcoin: Primarily used as money, store of value, hedge against inflation.
Ethereum: Foundation for DeFi (decentralized finance), NFTs, DAOs, Web3 applications, and programmable money.

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