Following a Twitter discussion on the differences in blockchain size of Bitcoin and Ethereum, BitMEX has released research touching upon those points.
In response to the following tweet, Peter McLasso also had added that “the Ethereum full archive node is 9TB when the Bitcoin node is 412GB.” Therein, he might be referring to the archival node, as pointed out by the research.
It should be noted that both chains are currently following a proof of work mechanism, ahead of Ethereum’s transition to POS in 2022. BitMEX noted Bitcoin’s blockchain is larger than that of Ethereum. However, very soon Ethereum is expected to outperform Bitcoin in this aspect, as it is poised to increase the size of its blockchain.
However, users are curious as to how Ethereum’s chain has a small size of 175GB, considering its higher transaction throughput. According to BitMEX, Bitcoin has more cumulative blockchain data even though Ethereum is leading in generating more data lately.
The research makes some interesting observations that Bitcoin’s chain grew faster than Ethereum between 2015 to 2018. After which, both chains maintained parallel growth until 2020. However, after that, Ethereum took over. and continues to maintain a lead in blockchain growth.
Do investors care?
But, most investors wouldn’t care about these aspects of the assets per se. Instead, analyst Willy Woo explained that decentralization is not what the market prices in.
In one snapshot, however, there is a growing voice that Ethereum could overtake Bitcoin “as the next generation of crypto”. Kenneth Griffin, CEO of Citadel echoed this thought, saying:
“Bitcoin-based conception [will be] replaced by the Ethereum-based conception in the next generation of cryptocurrencies.”
With Ethereum’s expectations surpassing the cumulative size of Bitcoin’s blockchain, research notes that the two chains operate differently. And so,
“The comparison between the blockchain size for Ethereum and Bitcoin is not always particularly relevant.”
In the context of the assessment, Ethereum co-founder Anthony Di Iorio also said in a recent interview that there is a possibility that Ethereum could overtake Bitcoin. He based the argument on the network’s “functionality and flexibility,” even when he agreed that “he loves Bitcoin.”
On the contrary, Shark Tank investor Kevin O’Leary had previously criticized the Ethereum network for its “slowness” in an interview with CNBC. He had commented,
“I find Ethereum – as a user, it’s too slow. And so there’s going to be other chains that are going to emerge.”
However, the two networks have recently taken important steps. Bitcoin’s Taproot upgrade went live about two weeks ago. Meanwhile, Ethereum buckles its belt for Arrow Glacier in December.
Additionally, both the assets will feature on TIME Magazine’s balance sheet.
