Bitcoin vs Ethereum – Transaction Throughput and Fees

Cryptocurrency enthusiasts often like to compare Bitcoin and Ethereum. These are the two most popular cryptocurrencies and Ethereum is even attempting to take Bitcoin’s place as top cryptocurrency. Comparing some aspects show the strengths and weaknesses of either asset. A few of these are network transaction fees and associated transaction throughput. Currently, Ethereum processes more transactions at lower fees than Bitcoin.

Ethereum Beats Bitcoin In Transaction Throughput

Ethereum is younger than Bitcoin, so looking at things such as the total of network transactions may seem inconclusive. After all, one may assume Ethereum has far fewer transactions compared to Bitcoin. That is no longer the case and it appears the tide is shifting in favor of Ethereum.

The statistics seem to indicate the Ethereum network processed close to three times the number of transactions compared to Bitcoin on July 4th. A total of 15.16 million gas units have been processed on the network. Keep in mind the average transaction – when related to Bitcoin – would use about 21,000 gas units. Quick calculations – which need to be taken with a grain of salt – show us July 4th saw 720,000 Bitcoin-sized transactions on the Ethereum blockchain. That is a substantial amount.  

The Bitcoin network processed a total of 255,483 transactions on the same day. That puts the Ethereum network well ahead of Bitcoin. This is an interesting turn of events, but does not necessarily mean anything monumental is taking place. Fluctuations are bound to happen in any market. Some days different coins will outperform another one.

The average network transaction fee for Bitcoin on July 4th was higher compared to Ethereum’s transaction fee. This shows the Ethereum network – in its current form and on this particular day – successfully processed more Bitcoin-sized transactions than the Bitcoin network itself. Additionally, the Ethereum network processed that higher number of transactions at lower fees than Bitcoin could. Although the difference is not as big as some people would like it to be, Ethereum was a more efficient network solution than Bitcoin.

It is important to keep in mind this is only one day of comparing both ecosystems and their transaction throughput. Ethereum has seen a lot more transactions lately. This is mainly due to cryptocurrency ICOs becoming more popular. The Bitcoin network probably processes more “payment” transactions instead of ICO transactions. It appears this may give Ethereum a slight edge over Bitcoin.

This ecosystem may evolve over the coming months. Ethereum gas prices are on the rise, whereas the Bitcoin network fees are slowly coming down. If these trends continue over the next few months then Bitcoin may consolidate its foothold as top cryptocurrency for a while longer. However, both blockchains suffer from bloat and “miner spam.” Whichever of the two can scale properly first will have a competitive edge.