1. QTUM. One of the most promising contenders for Ethereum's title is QTUM, a hybrid cryptocurrency technology that takes the best attributes of bitcoin and Ethereum before blending them together.
Cardano, Solana, and Avalanche all have technical advantages over Ethereum. The leading smart contract blockchain's first-mover advantage gives it staying power against serious challengers. In the end, the best replacement for Ethereum may turn out to be an upgraded version of the same system.
"In terms of competition, Bitcoin is still unmatched, while Ethereum has competitors that have gained traction and momentum thanks to their efficiency and easy-to-use systems," Wo says.
Ethereum would need to rise significantly
As of the afternoon of Jan. 18, Bitcoin's market cap was $789 billion, while Ethereum's was $371 billion. This means that the latter would need to soar 113% in value in the next 11 months to claim the top spot (assuming that the former's value would stay flat).
One of the reasons to consider trading in Bitcoin for Ethereum is that Bitcoin could have reached stabilization. As of April 2021, the price of Bitcoin had sailed past $60,000 a couple of times but has then dipped back below that mark. ... Currently, Ethereum has a market cap that is less than a third of Bitcoin.
Next Cryptos to Explode: Solana (SOL-USD)
Solana is already one of the biggest clear-cut winners of 2021. The SOL coin has boomed; those that bought in in early January at $1.40 are resting on a 13,000% gain at its current price of $183.10.
The total monthly active developers measured hit a record high of more than 18,000, but Ethereum retains the largest number of them. The Ethereum ecosystem still has far more developers than rival networks, but they are catching up with a faster rate of growth.
1. Ethereum (ETH) The first Bitcoin alternative on our list, Ethereum (ETH), is a decentralized software platform that enables smart contracts and decentralized applications (dApps) to be built and run without any downtime, fraud, control, or interference from a third party.
“Ethereum cannot be killed, it's impossible,” he said. And it's already a beautiful force of good in the world, empowering millions and creating billions in wealth. Bitcoin is quite obviously the same.”
“Crypto can be classified into different categories, like DeFi, NFT, utility tokens, store of value tokens like bitcoin and litecoin, and yield farming tokens like Aave,” says Sidharth Sogani, CEO of Crebaco, a crypto research firm.
In general, cryptocurrencies that have a native third-generation blockchain — Bitcoin being the first-generation and Ethereum being the second — have been proposed as 'Ethereum Killers' by the crypto community.
Dogecoin: $0.2223
DOGE, the coin that has risen to prominence earlier this year, thanks to Elon Musk, is the cheapest cryptocurrency to purchase in 2021.
Cryptocurrencies in general are volatile, and XRP is in an even more complicated position. If you think Ripple could continue to grow, then a small investment in XRP may be worth considering. It's not nearly as safe as investing in stocks, but if Ripple succeeds, you could make a sizable return.
Bitcoin. There's absolutely no surprise whatsoever that Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) still reigns as the world's most popular cryptocurrency. Its market cap currently stands at nearly $1.1 trillion. If Bitcoin were a company, it would be bigger than Meta Platforms (formerly known as Facebook) and Tesla.
Ethereum (ETH)
Ethereum, the second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap, is known for being one of the most profitable coins to mine. This thriving community has its unique blockchain network with smart contracts that developers can execute without third-party interference.
The third cryptocurrency that can soar 300%, or perhaps much more, by 2025 is smart contract-based blockchain network Avalanche (CRYPTO:AVAX).
The co-founder and former CEO of Ethereum, an open software platform that helps to build digital coins, warned that many of these alternative cryptocurrency projects are unsustainable and destined to eventually crash once their many issues are exposed.
Ethereum's growth has led more bullish crypto market analysts to estimate that the cryptocurrency could reach $5,000 in value by the end of 2021, while other price predictions see the currency stabilise at its current value of roughly $4,500 until 2022.
Buying Ethereum now may be a solid move, as long as you're doing it for the right reasons. If you believe in Ethereum's long-term potential and are ready to wait out any further price dips, it could make sense.