Roadmap › Blockchain & Web3 Fundamentals › Module: Blockchain Fundamentals
Lessons in this course (15)
4. Bitcoin vs Ethereum
BasicMediumLesson 4 of 15
| Bitcoin | Ethereum | |
|---|---|---|
| Launched | 2009 | 2015 |
| Purpose | Digital money / store of value | Programmable platform (world computer) |
| Consensus | Proof of Work | Proof of Stake (since Sep 2022) |
| Block time | ~10 minutes | 12 seconds |
| Supply | Capped at 21 million BTC; halving every 210,000 blocks (~4 years) | No hard cap; issuance to validators, part of fees burned (EIP-1559) |
| Model | UTXO (unspent transaction outputs) | Account-based (balances + contract storage) |
| Smart contracts | Limited (Bitcoin Script) | Turing-complete (EVM, Solidity) |
| Units | 1 BTC = 100,000,000 satoshis | 1 ETH = 10^18 wei; 1 gwei = 10^9 wei |