To begin with, BTC and ETH are the only assets that can really survive a prolonged bear market, as there’s a full-fledged investment infrastructure built around them. BTC is probably the only truly decentralized cryptocurrency that’s become a symbol of the entire industry. ETH is the token of the largest platform for launching decentralized apps. Sure, Ethereum has its fair share of flaws, and new blockchains like Avalanche or Solana have introduced more advanced technologies. However, nowhere else has so many developers and, consequently, integration and testing opportunities.
That said, ETH and BTC are conceptually different. First of all, Bitcoin’s supply is limited, while ETH’s isn’t. Secondly, what happens to Ethereum depends on decisions made by the development teams. They can decide whether or not to implement certain upgrades, like the recent move to PoS, while there’s no single decision-making center for Bitcoin. Some upgrades are being made, however, any innovation goes through a long process of stakeholder discussions to reach a consensus. In fact, Bitcoin’s lack of major changes is more of a plus than a minus: the unchanged basic principles give it stability and provide an unprecedented level of decentralization, which was evident in the course and specifics of the first cryptocurrency’s development. No other project has ever managed to repeat this story and is unlikely to do so.
Therefore, there’s a possible chance for Ethereum to flip Bitcoin in terms of capitalization. However, this doesn’t mean that Ethereum’s token will suddenly stop being a developer tool and become the main means of exchange in the crypto world. BTC will remain the primary analog of the dollar in the digital space, and it has no serious competitors.
