Bitcoin is still by far the largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization. But Ethereum is also growing faster and faster – some even see a “flippening” imminent.
Will the crypto market continue its triumphal march in 2021? Will Ethereum Outperform Bitcoin? And what does BaFin say about it all? A panel with representatives from the education, (crypto) economy and regulation sectors investigated these and other questions at the Frankfurt Crypto Asset Conference.
Bitcoin vs. Ethereum: flippening in sight?
Bitcoin’s claim as the undisputed store of value among cryptocurrencies is not set in stone for all participants. For Katherina Gehra, the course has been set for growth, especially for Ethereum. The CEO of the “Blockchain Fund” from Immutable Insight sees a trend in the recently significantly stronger price development of ETH compared to BTC, which could continue due to the growing use of Ethereum:
I am very bullish on Ether. If you look at the recent price surge, I think Bitcoin has doubled and Ethereum has quintupled during that time. And I also believe that Ethereum’s ease of use will gnaw away at Bitcoin’s dominance. That’s why I’m personally more bullish with Ether than with Bitcoin.
Katherina Gehra, CEO of Immutable Insight
Contradiction from Alexander von Frankenberg
Alexander von Frankenberg, however, sees it completely differently. The managing director of the Early Stage VC High-Tech Gründerfonds advocates a differentiation of the application scenarios and predicts Bitcoin to have a permanent pole position in its segment as a digital store of value. Von Frankenberg draws a parallel to a well-known IT monopoly:
I think they are separate markets. I think there is a store of value and all that that Bitcoin addresses. And in this segment, Bitcoin makes up over 90 percent. Bitcoin is like Microsoft Windows and always will be because of network effects.
Alexander von Frankenberg, Managing Director of High-Tech Gründerfonds
Even in the event of a “flipping”, ie the replacement of BTC as the network with the highest market capitalization, von Falkenberg does not see a doom scenario. On the contrary:
There is a risk that the Bitcoin blockchain will include smart contracts, but I think this is not that high. And if that doesn’t happen, there will be another universe of smart contracts and other applications. I think it doesn’t matter at all whether this universe is bigger or not. It could be bigger because of the many uses. But on the other hand, the use case as a store of value is also huge. I think it’s completely irrelevant whether there is flipping or not. I think all segments – because the network effects also apply to the Ethereum Space – will gain in value. This will go on for a long time
Alexander von Frankenberg, Managing Director of High-Tech Gründerfonds
the VC CEO is convinced.
BaFin: 2021 no comparison with the ICO hype of 2017
With Christoph Kreiterling from the Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin), a representative of the German financial supervisory authority also took part. Kreiterling works at BaFin in the area of financial innovations. According to its own information, Kreiterling has been following the crypto market since 2011 and is one of BaFin’s most important contacts for companies in the blockchain sector.
What we’ve seen over the past couple of years have been two things: A mass adoption, more and more people are entering the market. And an adaptation can also be seen on the side of the institutions. […] We see institutional entities entering the crypto market and thus institutional money flowing into the crypto market. This is an overall development that represents a significant change if you compare it, for example, with the ICO hype in 2017.
Christoph Kreiterling, BaFin
Bitcoin still plays a major role for the man from BaFin as a gateway to the crypto sector. But Kreiterling also seems to think big on Ethereum:
Bitcoin can be seen as a “foot-in-the-door thing”. It attracts attention [für den Krypto-Markt, Anm.d.Red.]. Ethereum shows the potential, shows what you can do with it. That’s kind of a development. The more people understand about Ethereum, the sooner they realize that there is more to come,
Christoph Kreiterling, BaFin
confirms the blockchain expert from BaFin.