Comparing two blockchains is absurd. Every Blockchain is unique in its own way and they all have their own merits and demerits. But still, there are some parameters, based on which we can compare the different blockchains available today. One of these is the total transactions handled by a blockchain. Also, the amount of the processed transaction gives a clear picture of the size and efficiency of the blockchain.
With this in mind, we can say that the Ethereum blockchain currently dominates, as the network has processed over $29 billion in the last 24 hours, which is more than the value processed by six other major public blockchains combined - Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Litecoin, Dash, Bitcoin Gold, and Ethereum Classic.
But it should be noted that this number is not only about ETH tokens, but also includes all the ERC20 tokens. Because of the efficiency of the network, many major emerging tokens like Tron and even Tether-issued USDT and EURT are now based on the Etherum blockchain - the total processing amount includes all of them.
Though the total transaction amount is appealing, the focus point should be on the total number of transactions the network is handling on a daily basis. Well, in this area too, Ethereum excels with flying colors.
Since the end of December ‘17, Ethereum has been handing over a million transactions on its network quite efficiently. For the market leading Bitcoin blockchain, this number is a mere 240,000.
Advantages of Ethereum
Though the increasing number of transactions is a matter of concern, when compared with other public blockchains Ethereum is still very efficient. The network creates a new block every 15-20 secs, which is much faster than Bitcoin, whose block time is around 10 minutes. Also, the average transaction fee of Ethereum is around $2.50, compared with the $28.90 average fee of a Bitcoin transaction.
This high price and the slow network is a massive setback for Bitcoin, as it is making the coin unusable for smaller Payments .
Etherum’s development team is also working hard to make the network more scalable.
In November, Vitalik Buterin, founder of the Ethereum Foundation, unveiled the roadmap of Ethereum 2.0 which will address the scalability issue of the present network. He is aiming to achieve VISA-level scalability within the next 3 to 5 years.
The development team is also working on the introduction of a proof-of-stake consensus with the 'Casper' update. The update has already been released on a testnet.
According to many blockchain experts, Ethereum will eventually surpass Bitcoin to become the largest blockchain. But as there is a difference of over $100 billion in the market caps of the two, this is far from happening.
