Solana’s Co-founder Draws Line Between Ethereum and Bitcoin, Here’s Why

Solana’s co-founder Anatoly Yakovenko compared Ethereum to the Bitcoin Network amid the slow price growth. The executive and users highlighted several differences between the networks on social media spaces. Top of the list is the energy consumption of Bitcoin compared to the Proof-of-Stake (PoS) model of Ethereum.

Solana’s Co-founder Compares Ethereum and Bitcoin

In what turned out to be a community discussion, Anatoly Yakovenko, the co-founder of Solana said both platforms are alike except for the differences in energy leading to a disparity in capital expenditure. X User R89Capital asked users who believe that Ethereum should be worth trillions to point to recent developments that justify the anticipated price growth.  

its like bitcoin, but doesn’t use as much energy, so has a lower capex

— toly 🇺🇸 | compressed (@aeyakovenko) August 31, 2024

Although Ethereum remains the largest decentralized network in terms of smart contracts, its token ETH has yet to tap global adoption on the same wave as Bitcoin in recent years. Most users point to Bitcoin as a store of value attracting retail and institutional investors amid a change in macroeconomic factors.

Yakovenko hinted that both are similar to save their energy use. Bitcoin is a Proof-of-Work blockchain with miners resulting in high energy consumption. This is due to the computing power of the hardware needed by miners. However, Ethereum transitioned to a PoS mechanism and saw its energy use decline significantly. According to the Solana co-founder, this reduces its overall capital expenditure as it doesn’t use as much energy. It should be noted that users projected a price surge after the Ethereum Merge but the price has struggled, unlike Bitcoins. 

Users Stress More Differences

Aside from the case of consensus mechanisms and energy consumption, crypto users highlighted Bitcoin’s use as a store of value and a payment option. Despite the growing adoption of Ethereum, its token, Ether has not recorded mainstream growth like BTC regarding payments and a hedge against inflation.

In certain countries, citizens have increased Bitcoin adoption due to negative macro conditions. Another positive to Bitcoin’s case is the approval of spot Bitcoin ETFs by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) which led to billions in traditional investments.