Cardano vs Ethereum: what to invest in 2024

Cardano (ADA) vs Ethereum (ETH)

Ethereum’s vault from nothingness to the top as the most widely used blockchain platform in just five years has set it a benchmark for competitors. For marketing reasons, many altcoins have started calling themselves improved Ethereum counterparts. For example, Cardano claims itself as the next (third) generation Ethereum.

Ethereum (ETH)

The creation of Ethereum pursued the standard goal of releasing an “improved Bitcoin”. But with the latter, it is connected only by the blockchain and its decentralized nature. In the case of Bitcoin, the blockchain is quite primitive and it is able to process only the simplest operations for the functioning of the currency, while Ethereum has a more advanced system due to the implementation of smart contracts. Smart contract is a program that ensures the fulfillment of obligations between users and allows avoiding intermediaries: a simple code decides whether a condition is met and, depending on the answer, transfers funds to a particular account.

Cardano (ADA)

Cardano is a multi-level Proof-of-Stake blockchain platform written in the Haskell programming language for building decentralized applications based on the smart contracts. 

The self-proclaimed “third generation blockchain” brought its ADA tokens to the market relatively recently in October 2017, when the Ethereum killer meme had already become “the talk of the town” and it was firmly associated with phantom projects. However, despite its early stage of development and the lack of outstanding real achievements,  Cardano project managed to convince investors of its ability to change the world and entered the top ten leading cryptocurrencies with the “Ethereum killer” flag. ADA entry into the global cryptocurrency market happened at a favorable time, when the excitement for it reigned around, and investors were buying up pigs in a poke at the price of a car in the hope that these pigs will cost like an airplane.

Cardano vs Ethereum: price

Let’s have a look at ADA vs ETH in terms of price.

Cardano rose sharply in May this year after billionaire Elon Musk became disillusioned with Bitcoin over the environmental impact of its mining and said that Tesla would no longer accept cryptocurrency. The environmental issue is important, and its impact depends on how often influencers talk about the energy source for Bitcoin. The interest in the project of institutional investors was an important factor in the growth of ADA rate: on July 1, the largest American crypto fund Grayscale (owned by Digital Currency Group, the parent company of the CoinDesk crypto exchange) announced the purchase of Cardano tokens. The Cardano platform scored another victory this year when it received approval to list on Japanese exchanges, which Carnago says have some of the strictest selection criteria in the world. Now ADA tokens with a rate of $ 1.71 per token and a capitalization of $ 57 billion occupy the sixth line in the Coinmarketcap rating, and Charles Hoskinson, ex-Ethereum developer and a head of the Cardano project, is drawing more rosy prospects for ADA. 

By mid-April 2021, the cost of Ethereum came close to $ 2,500. Then the creators of the cryptocurrency carried out a hard fork Berlin, which is part of the plan to switch to Ethereum 2.0. But the growth continued after the update, and already on May 12, the value of the cryptocurrency exceeded $ 4,300 for the first time. The rapid growth was followed by a period of decline, but in the fall ETH rate again rushed up  and on October 21, it broke the spring record. After that, the price of the first altcoin dropped somewhat, and soon ETH was traded at $ 4,200. The growth period was again replaced by a short-term price fall and by October 28, Ethereum was worth less than $ 4 thousand, but the next day the first altcoin renewed the price record at a level above $ 4,440. After that, a new phase of rapid growth began, which culminated on November 10. Then the cost of ETH was above $ 4,840. Making a forecast for the ETH rate, experts note that further growth of the digital asset is possible. Ethereum has already shown impressive results. The growth of the second cryptocurrency began in parallel with Bitcoin. On November 10, ETH set a new absolute price record: at the moment the rate exceeded $ 4,840. The current price of ETH is $ 4,516.55 with a market capitalization of $ 535 billion.

The future of these cryptocurrencies: Which one will last longer ADA or ETH?

A report by CoinShares, one of the largest digital asset managers in the world, shows that institutional investors have shown greater interest in the native cryptocurrencies of the Ethereum and Cardano networks compared to Bitcoin.

Cryptopolitan refers to one of the analytical materials of the crypto influencer Coin Bureau, which describes Cardano’s outlook in the most optimistic terms. Despite the fact that the growth potential of this cryptocurrency is limited due to its large market capitalization, it has more opportunities for further growth than its direct rival, i.e. Ethereum. In spite of everything, it maintained a very noticeable bull run. As stated by analysts, the better days of Cardano are yet to come. According to many forecasts, by the end of 2021, in terms of market capitalization, the Cardano cryptocurrency (ADA) will be able to overtake or come close to the performance of Ethereum, which is considered its main rival.

As reported by BitcoinEthereumNews, hundreds of users are waiting for the opportunity to use Cardano DApps. Since the Cardano ecosystem is made up of its own unique community-funded projects, early investors will have new opportunities for up to 100x profit growth following the launch of smart contracts.

Conclusion: What is the best choice?

What should you choose as an investor, whether Cardano or Ethereum? It looks like Cardano will be beyond Ethereum`s bend in the near future. First of all, Cardano’s development follows a rather slow but sure-fire strategy that fully evolves the system every time it is updated. In addition, Cardano’s announcement of attempts to decentralize the Internet attracts a lot of chivalry and criticism to his camp. Some developers are already ditching other blockchains in favor of the Cardano system. Cardano is currently at # 6 on the charts. There is already talk in the crypto community that ADA will eventually outperform ETH in terms of overall market value.

FAQ

Does Cardano outperform Ethereum?

Before considering how Cardano poses a threat to Ethereum, it is worth having a look at the various cryptocurrencies in existence. 

As technology evolves, cryptocurrencies appear, and often this happens in the development process, later versions tend to have improvements. There are 3 generations of cryptocurrencies.

First generation

First generation cryptocurrencies include Bitcoin, Litecoin, and Dogecoin. They are the earliest coins and first to hit the market and they are credited with creating everything currently associated with cryptocurrencies such as blockchain. The former does not always mean the best, and while Bitcoin may have the most value at present, these first generation currencies are often considered slow due to outdated technology. 

Second generation

Ethereum is classified as a second generation cryptocurrency and this is why smart contracts were introduced. This happened when its creator Vitalik Buterin concluded that agreements between the two parties that were decentralized could benefit from blockchain technology. This means that many companies are now using Ethereum to expand their presence.

Third generation

Third-generation cryptocurrencies include such currencies as Cardano and Polkadot. These cryptocurrencies use new technologies that make them faster and also do not rely on Proof of Work. Instead, they operate on a Proof-of-Stake blockchain.

At first glance, it might seem that Cardano has a huge advantage over Ethereum due to more efficient transactions and better technology. One of the main disadvantages of Ethereum is the high fees and slow transaction. Therefore, Cardano deserves Ethereum’s market cap, if not even higher, which will give ADA a price tag of around $ 12 or more. However, this is not entirely true, and there are many other variables to consider Ethereum vs Cardano.

Ethereum 2.0, which is slated for release sometime in mid 2022, is another risk associated with Cardano. This update will be incredibly monumental and will eliminate the high transaction costs and slow speeds that currently plague blockchain. Cardano needs to convince both developers and users that its blockchain is good enough to warrant migration, or create its own partnerships and user base that would prefer to use Cardano anyway. 

Can Cardano get as high as Ethereum?

Ethereum will try to surpass Bitcoin in the new decade. Experts believe that Cardano has a chance to compete with Bitcoin and Ether.

Can Cardano really become a serious competitor and topple Ethereum from second place? Cardano poses a serious risk to Ethereum and it is making big strides towards overtaking it. As far as Bitcoin is concerned, this may not be happening anytime soon, but Cardano has real potential to become the number 2 cryptocurrency.

What makes Cardano really different from Ethereum right now is its fees. While Cardano charges small transaction fees, Ethereum’s fees are known to be high, with some users reporting that they spent £ 1,000 on fees alone. The Proof-of-Stake model, in contrast to the Proof-of-Work, also makes Cardano be unique and stand out from the crowd. All this means that over time, Cardano will definitely climb to the top.

Will Cardano get to $100?

DigitalCoin’s ADA prediction will average $ 2.05 this year and rise to $ 2.53 in 2022. Over the long term, DigitalCoinpredicts an average price of $ 4.08 in 2025 and $ 6.13 in 2028. WalletInvestor predictions show that ADA price could rise to $ 5 over the medium term, with the potential to hit $ 10 over the long term.

Meanwhile, the price of the currency will be influenced by the trend in the broader cryptocurrency markets, as well as the adoption of the ADA and Cardano blockchain among DeFi, dApps and NFT developers and users.

Disclaimer: Please keep in mind that the content of this article is not financial or investing advice. The information provided is the author’s opinion only and should not be considered as direct recommendations for trading or investment. Any article reader or website visitor should consider multiple viewpoints and become familiar with all local regulations before cryptocurrency investment. We do not make any warranties about reliability and accuracy of this information.