Ripple and Ethereum are two of the most popular digital assets in the crypto market. Despite both cryptocurrencies promising to reinvent finance across the globe, ETH and XRP tackle this monumental task from completely different angles.

While David Schwartz, Brad Garlinghouse, and the team at Ripple Labs want to facilitate simpler transactions globally, Vitalik Buterin and the wider Ethereum community are reimagining whats possible on the internet.

In this article, well pit two of the blockchain industrys brightest stars against each other to see who comes out on top.

Before plunging into the nuts and bolts of these protocols, its important to understand what Ripple and Ethereum do and why these ecosystems carry so much gravity in the crypto space.

Originally designed by Jed McCaleb as the ultimate Bitcoin (BTC) alternative, Ripple is a cross-border payment protocol that aims to streamline international financial transactions.

With a focus on central banks and other high-powered financial institutions, Ripple Labs envisions a world where lengthy and expensive international payments are executed in seconds, liberating the flow of money worldwide.

The Ripple Labs team has wasted no time building a powerful network of strategic partnerships. Dozens of banks and financial institutions, including Santander and the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, have joined the RippleNet. With XRPs legal dramas mostly behind it, Ripples expansive partnerships are expected to grow.

Ethereum is the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization and is responsible for pioneering many of blockchain technologys greatest innovations.

A fully decentralized, smart contract-capable network, Ethereum reimagined what we knew possible on the internet, giving us remarkable new use cases like decentralized finance (DeFi) and non-fungible tokens (NFTs).

Today, Ethereum boasts the greatest diversity of on-chain technologies and applications seen in the space. Vitalik Buterins network has given millions of people worldwide greater control over their funds, eliminating the need for costly intermediaries in dozens of industries and sectors.

As Im sure you can understand by now, Ripple and Ethereum are fundamentally different on many levels, and each blockchain is better suited to different tasks. What are the main differences to consider when comparing the two blockchains?

Ripple, XRP, and the XRP Ledger are primarily used to transfer funds efficiently across borders. Thats not to say there isnt some semblance of DeFi activity on the network, but the blockchains main focus is to provide services to financial institutions globally.

On the other hand, Ethereum offers a far more diverse range of utilities. While early activity on the network was centered around decentralized finance, Ethereum developers have spread their wings to provide blockchain-based applications in everything from supply chain management and healthcare to legal services and gaming.

The XRP Ledger was designed to eclipse Bitcoins limitations and provide an unrivaled payment system. With blazing-fast transaction speeds, high transaction throughput, and low fees, the XPRL can support vast amounts of users without breaking a sweat or breaking the bank.

In this respect, Ethereum falls short. The network has long suffered from astronomical gas fees, with a simple trade, digital currency transfer, or NFT mint costing upwards of $50. Ethereum is also much slower than Ripple, managing only around 15 transactions per second

However, all is not lost for Ethereum. The network supports dozens of layer 2 scaling solutions that help shoulder some of the burden, providing Ethereums unmatched developer experience on far more scalable platforms.

On top of that, Vitalik Buterin and the Ethereum community are constantly working to improve the network. Plans are underway to alleviate Ethereums issues and help it compete with more modern and performant Layer Ones.

As mentioned earlier, Ripples primary focus is on delivering solutions for some of the worlds largest financial institutions. While most cryptocurrency industry aims to give power and control back to the individual, Ripple is more interested in sticking with the big players.

Beyond that, Ripple faces some centralization issues. While claiming to be fully decentralized, the XRP Ledger is largely operated by Ripple Labs, a private company.

As if that wasnt enough, Ripple Labs holds over 50B XRP tokens in its escrow vaults.

This staggering figure makes up more than half of XRPs total supply, a concept that even Ripple CTO David Schwartz has difficulty supporting.

Meanwhile, Ethereums development and future are firmly held in the hands of its community. On-chain votes manage the protocols governance, and anyone can submit new proposals that might dictate the blockchains path forward.

Like Bitcoin itself, Ethereum champions the original ethos of blockchain technology. The network aims to give everyone on earth greater control of their assets and provide a secure, anonymous, and permissionless platform for all.

Having shaken the legal monkey off its back, Ripple can finally look ahead unburdened. At the same time, Ethereums network effect is growing larger daily, supported by a comprehensive roadmap expected to resolve its issues. What does the future hold for these iconic cryptocurrencies?

While Ripple Labs legal battle with the U.S. Securities and Exchanges Commission is far from over, Judge Analisa Torres declaration that XRP is not a security has been a great boon for the XRP community.

With that out of the way, Ripple Labs can focus more on expanding the RippleNet work towards more partnerships with large financial institutions.

Rumors have been circulating about a potential Ripple IPO. However, Ripple Labs CEO Brad Garlinghouse has denied these claims, suggesting that Ripple is not in any hurry to go public.

Following a successful transition to becoming a more energy-efficient, Proof-of-Stake blockchain in 2022, the next steps of Ethereums roadmap are dedicated to scaling the network.

Co-founder Vitalik Buterin has updated the Ethereum roadmap, painting a picture of what to expect in 2024 (ignoring the typo in his post). The plan ahead follows the 6-step path to newfound scalability, separated into comically named sections.

While it is unlikely that all this will be achieved in 2024 alone, the Ethereum community is largely happy with the proposal, which aims to bring Ethereum to greater heights.

Comparisons between crypto projects are not always a great measure of their value. The reality is that its hard to compare the perks and potential of two fundamentally different protocols with contrasting values and use cases.

On paper, Ripple is a far more efficient and scalable payment processor. However, Ethereums adaptability and scope are far wider, allowing for a more diverse range of utilities and adoption channels.

Ultimately, the question shouldnt be as simple as Which is better?. The question is which blockchain is better suited to your individual needs.

Ripple is undoubtedly the better option if you want to transfer funds quickly at a low cost. For everything else, Ethereum offers a much more diverse range of tools and services that Ripple and the XRP Ledger cannot match.

Ripple and Ethereum are two of the most important digital assets in the crypto market. Its essential to understand what both networks are capable of before making any investment decisions.

Ripple and Ethereum serve different purposes and have different objectives. This makes it hard to say emphatically whether one is better.

While nothing is impossible, it is exceptionally unlikely that Ripple XRP will hit $100. If this were to happen, XRP would have a market capitalization greater than that of Amazon and Apple combined.

You can buy Ripple (XRP) and Ethereum (ETH) on leading crypto exchanges like Binance and Coinbase.

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Ripple (XRP) vs Ethereum (ETH): Comparing Two of Crypto's Biggest Altcoins - DailyCoin

Comparisons between Bitcoin and Ethereum have made the topic of many crypto debates, leading to many different conclusions. Bitcoin is the holder of many notable records and achievements, including being the first decentralized cryptocurrency established by Satoshi Nakamoto in 2009, the most valuable digital asset and the one that occupies the largest share in the cryptocurrency market. As a result, Ethereum, which was founded in 2015 by Vitalik Buterin, has always lived in Bitcoins shadow, alongside all the other digital currencies that emerged in its wake, forming the altcoin pack.

Historical cryptocurrency data reveals that the two assets have moved in tandem, with the flagship crypto dictating the price trajectory. Judging by the difference between the current Ethereum price and the Bitcoin price, the latter wins by a landslide. Ethereum always seems to be several steps behind Bitcoin, unable to pose a real threat to its dominance and yank it off its throne.

However, if we delve a bit deeper, we can see that the altcoin leader also showcases a series of strong suits and key metrics that place it at the top of the cryptocurrency hierarchy, in front of its longtime rival, and hodler count is one of the areas where Ethereum excels.

Ethereum hits record number of hodlers in 2023

2023 has been a good year for Ethereum for several reasons. The second-ranked crypto has been on an appreciation journey for the better part of the year, with a 20% gain in the last month and a 38% gain over the past 60 days. Apart from the considerable price increase, Ethereum has also seen a significant surge in hodler numbers.

Hodler is a popular crypto slang term that designates long-term holders of a cryptocurrency. These investors buy and hold onto assets regardless of price volatility, trusting their long-term value and their ability to weather market fluctuations.

According to IntoTheBlock data, addresses that have held Ether for more than 12 months currently make up 72% of all Ethereum holders, reaching the highest level since 2018. At the moment, Ethereum counts approximately 73.9 million long-term holders, after a 44.2% increase, while Bitcoins holder figures stand at 33.6 million.

Hodlers play an important role in the health and performance of digital assets. Coins backed by a large number of holders tend to be less susceptible to market volatility and are generally perceived as more resilient and trustworthy. So, the fact that Ethereums holder community is growing is certainly a positive development for the network.

In addition, Ethereum also outclasses Bitcoin in terms of whales, which refers to persons or entities that own a large amount of a single cryptocurrency, between 1000 and 10,000 coins. By the latest count, the number of Ethereum whale addresses has recently reached 5,370, marking a 12% yearly increase, while Bitcoin whale wallets amount to 1,920.

This proves that Bitcoin is not the only coin boasting record-breaking performances in the cryptocurrency ecosystem. Ethereum outshines the original crypto in many ways, so even though theres still a huge price discrepancy between the two, the top altcoin continues to attract an increasing number of investors.

What prompted Ethereums holder increase?

Not too long ago, Bitcoin used to hold supremacy in hodler numbers as well. Whats more, both Bitcoin and Ethereum have had impressive runs this year and recorded increases in their hodler metrics. So, what exactly caused the tables to turn and lead to such a notable disparity between the two assets?

Ethereums surge in long-term holders can be attributed to a series of factors. One of the most likely causes for the increase is the rise in Ethereum staking registered this year. The amount of staked Ether has nearly doubled since the beginning of 2023, with roughly 24% of all Ethereums circulating supply being locked in staking deposits. Since most staked funds remained untouched for more than 12 months, this led to a major rise in the Holder Ratio.

However, there are other factors that have contributed to the phenomenon which have to do with the purpose and the evolution of the two crypto projects. On one hand, Bitcoin has continued to operate as a deflationary store of value and a peer-to-peer form of digital money, so it hasnt strayed away from its original purpose and use cases.

On the other hand, Ethereum has undergone massive transformations since its launch back in 2013. Designed by Vitalik Buterin as a programable blockchain, Ethereum started its journey as a platform that enables the deployment of decentralized apps (dApps). However, over the years and after multiple upgrades and updates, the Ethereum ecosystem expanded considerably, with applications and use cases spanning across many other areas, including gaming, decentralized finance (DeFi), and non-fungible tokens (NFTs).

Bitcoin is clearly more established and mainstream than Ethereum, having a longer track record in the market and being superior in terms of price performance and scalability. Ethereum is in a weaker position from this point of view, but price action is not the only aspect that attracts investors and drives crypto adoption.

The fact that Ethereum boasts a diversity of use cases and represents a hub for innovation in the crypto sphere has caught the eye of stakeholders and that has led to an increase in hodler numbers.

The Ethereum network also seems to respond better to the changing needs and demands of market participants. The Merge and Shapella upgrades, which saw Ethereum switch from a proof-of-work (PoW) consensus protocol to a proof-of-stake (PoS) mechanism, stand as proof of Ethereums adaptability, flexibility and its constant focus on innovation. These attributes have turned it into a decentralized blockchain powerhouse and continue to draw in more investors and holders.

Final thoughts

Ethereums record number of long-term holders might not be enough to steal the leader position from Bitcoin, so its rather premature to make assumptions about a potential flippening in the near future. However, changes in this key metric serve as an indicator of Ethereums strength and potential and are worth taking into account by crypto enthusiasts.

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Ethereum's record number of hodlers downgrades Bitcoin to second place - Baltic Times

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Last weeks SEC approval for listing and trading of a number of spot bitcoin exchange-traded product (ETP) shares was big news. The next shoe to drop could be the SECs approval of a bunch of ether spot ETPs. Gary Genslers statement said Importantly, todays Commission action is cabined to ETPs holding one non-security commodity, bitcoin. It should in no way signal the Commissions willingness to approve listing standards for crypto asset securities. Which, of course clarified, in lawyerly terms, what the limitations of the approval were. No ether spot ETPs were authorized in this cabined action. We have been down this path before. Nine ether futures ETFs were granted approvals back in September 2023. Legal action against the SEC forced their hand into granting spot bitcoin ETF approval. Bitcoin futures ETFs were already granted approval, two years ago. The same could happen for a spot ether ETF. CNBCs Squawk Box interview with Larry Fink of BlackRock, reveals that he favors an ether spot ETF.

EthereumETH, which uses ether as its native currency, has been the site of many major innovations in blockchain based finance. Even the SEC, in a notice from 2023, lists the achievements of the Ethereum ecosystem in the background section. Ethereum has a large base of committed developers. The main strategist and developer of Ethereum, Vitalik Buterin, is a very influential theorist and practitioner in the ecosystem. Buterin writes code and blogs lucidly and engages with his critics. Buterin has matured from a boy genius to an engaged and committed young man. Gavin Wood, Joe Lubin and others who were involved with Ethereum from the get go, are still engaged. Others, too numerous to name, have been writing improvement proposals and code. They work together under the Ethereum Foundation to move the ecosystem forward. Even though it is not one big happy family, it has not been damaged enough by dysfunction to drive positive change.

The Merge and on-going upgrades have reduced the energy consumption of the ethereum system by 95%. As a smart contract forward system the power of code, the cryptographic guarantees of the blockchain, and the crypto-economic design of governance structures have synergistically yielded a powerful financial foundation with many emergent capabilities. Experimentation and production deployments have continued apace.

Significant new innovations supported by Ethereum include the whole of DeFi, encompassing decentralized exchanges powered by automated market makers, yield aggregators, stablecoins, and NFTs. Liquidity and collateral management along with governance have also been tokenized. Many of the ideas are from traditional finance with a twist. Challenges remain, among them high cost of transactions, and scaling. Confidentiality is a challenge as well.

The differences between ether and bitcoin are striking. The main force behind bitcoin, Satoshi Nakamoto, has vanished. Nakamoto is probably in the happy hunting grounds. No voice comparable to Buterins authority exists in the bitcoin ecosystem. At this stage, change in bitcoin is very difficult, especially in the core ideas and components. It is also safe to say that Ethereum would not have existed without BitcoinBTC. The SEC sees both ether and bitcoin as commodities.

As an observer and participant, I have been involved in the developing story of both Ethereum and Bitcoin for more than 8 years. It is only a matter of time before the SEC approves an ether spot ETF. Prices of ether are rising in anticipation.

Fink also says in the Squawk Box interview quoted in the first paragraph these ETP approvals are stepping stones toward tokenization of securities. Fink says that along with tokenized identity it eliminates corruption such as money laundering in the current financial system. The coming disruption of traditional Financial Markets through tokenization may be a bigger story. Ideas, methods and capital from the Ethereum ecosystem are filtering into traditional finance. As an example, J.P. Morgans Onyx and the RLN network are offshoots of Enterprise Ethereum.

I am the founder of dlt.nyc. My work as a technology consultant is backed by years as a developer and manager in capital markets, building solutions. Experiencing the dysfunction in Financial Markets Infrastructure first-hand, I was drawn to blockchain and digital technologies. I was at the table when DAH, R3 and EEA were formed. I am a community leader in Hyperledger. I helped create a project in Hyperledger labs to explore standards and CBDC called eThaler. Now working on cross platform interoperability. I am into open-source technology and its many strengths. I have coded in many languages, used many different databases and network solutions. I write lyric poetry and crypto-economic analyses. I hold a holistic view of the digital transformation underway in the financial markets and the economy. I want to explore these transformative times with my readers.

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Approvals For Ethereum Spot ETPs Could Be Next - Forbes

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A discussion over classifying layer-2 solutions (L2s) has erupted within the Ethereum community after remarks by co-founder Vitalik Buterin.

In response to a post on X by Daniel Wang, founder of Taiko, an Ethereum rollup solution, Buterin said that reliance on external chains makes a system no longer a rollup since assets cant unconditionally be withdrawn if operators collude against users.

Buterin adds, though, that despite the classification, validiums remain suitable for many other applications. Buterin notes that systems relying on external data availability (or DA, as mentioned in the tweet), such as modular blockchain Celestia, are validiums rather than genuine rollups.

Validiums and rollups are scaling solutions for Ethereum that allow more transactions to be processed off-chain, reducing congestion and gas fees.

Rollups batch transactions off-chain while posting data to Ethereum for security, providing scaling through compression. Validiums also enable off-chain transactions but use zero-knowledge proofs for validity without publishing transactions on-chain.

The main difference between the two is data availability. In a rollup, the data is available on-chain, while in a validium, the data is stored off-chain and only a hash is stored on-chain.

This difference makes validiums more efficient and versatile than rollups but also introduces a data availability risk if the data availability providers collude, censor, or go offline. Validiums are administered by a collection of smart contracts deployed on Mainnet, including a verifier contract and a data availability committee.

On the other hand, rollups publish the full data of transactions on-chain, making them more reliable and secure but ostensibly less private than validiums.

In this case, Buterin is proposing critical changes to how layer-2 solutions are classified, introducing a new taxonomy of layer-2 solutions based on more neutral strong and light labels for rollups and validiums, respectively, with the strong label denoting security-favoring solutions, and the light label representing scale-favoring L2s.

This logic is based on two distinct purposes that layer-2 solutions serve: scaling and modularity.

In terms of scaling, rollups offer compression from transaction batching, providing security inherited from layer 1. However, data storage and verification processes limit throughput. Validiums avoid this through zero-knowledge proofs that validate off-chain activity without exposing transaction details on-chain. This enables validiums to scale to higher volumes.

Regarding modularity, solutions like Celestia adopt this approach: data availability is customizable based on specific needs, and validation layers are open to independent deployment. If a classification between light and strong L2s, as Buterin proposes, is implemented, it will affect how modular chains allow customization across data and validation components.

The key difference here is how rollups mandate data availability on Ethereum, maximizing security but reducing modular flexibility. On the other hand, validiums enable adaptable data and validation layers to optimize performance but also open up trust assumptions, potentially lowering transaction security.

Ryan Berckmans, an investor in decentralized payments protocol 3cities, countered Vitalik Buterins proposed taxonomy by asserting that validiums should still be considered layer 2 solutions. Berckmans claims the L2 sector has the flexibility to define terms in ways that maximize usefulness.

To support his position, Berckmans points to L2Beat, a data provider tracking the adoption of layer-2 protocols, which currently categorizes validiums under its umbrella of L2 coverage.

However, L2Beats explainer states that validiums and other models relying solely on validity proofs rather than direct data availability on Ethereum introduce additional trust assumptions and fall outside the scope of rollup-style L2 solutions. By avoiding base layer settlement, L2Beat argues that validiums fail to inherit the security guarantees that define conventional layer-2 implementations.

The arguments reveal inconsistencies that are still present across layer-2 implementations. Projects like L2Beat aim to bring clarity but need help with contradictions as pioneering teams innovate on scaling models that dont neatly fit the current definitions.

Berckmans advocates for a functional taxonomy that includes advanced networks expanding Ethereums throughput and capacity. In contrast, Buterin and L2Beat favor more strict security-oriented criteria that validium tradeoffs fail to satisfy at a conceptual level.

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Vitalik Buterin sparks debate on layer-2 classifications - Crypto Briefing

U.Today - Vitalik Buterin, the cofounder of , the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, has recently made a significant transfer of (USDC), a stablecoin pegged to the U.S. dollar.

According to PeckShield Alert, the Vitalik Buterin-labeled address made a move of 3,300 USDC in the early hours of today.

The reason for the transfer is not far-fetched: the Ethereum cofounder was merely reshuffling funds as the said 3,300 USDC were moved to a new address.

The Ethereum price is dipping alongside the rest of the crypto market, down 5.71% in the last 24 hours to $2,246. The crypto market witnessed a slump after speculations arose about MatrixPort's bearish prediction for spot ETF approval.

Amid the current slump seen on the ETH price, crypto analyst Michael van de Poppe believes that Ethereum is still showing momentum but has a big gap to traverse to be at the same level as Bitcoin. Ethereum might see a bit of consolidation before continuing toward $3,000$3,500 during Q1, 2024.

At the end of 2023, Ethereum cofounder Vitalik Buterin published the Ethereum roadmap going forward, conceding that there are only small differences from the previous year.

Buterin stated in a series of posts on X (previously Twitter) that Ethereum's sustained focus in 2024 will be on six essential components. Buterin expounded on these six parts Merge, Surge, Scourge, Verge, Purge and Splurge in a thorough chart with commentaries and graphics.

Buterin already indicated his intention to revive the original vision of the "cypherpunk" revolution for the Ethereum blockchain, as previously reported.

This article was originally published on U.Today

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Ethereum's Vitalik Buterin Shuffles USDC Funds, Likely Reason By U.Today - Investing.com