For months, Twitter founder Jack Dorsey and Ethereum creator Vitalik Buterin have been squabbling over whether bitcoin or Ethereum is better, culminating in the pair trading increasingly personal insults about each other’s cryptocurrency philosophies this week. It all started when Dorsey defended Ethereum against criticism in an interview with back in May 2018, adding that bitcoin was not the panacea Buterin had built it up to be.
What’s Bitcoin?
In the world of cryptocurrency, there are a variety of different currencies. Bitcoin, for example, is the most popular and valuable cryptocurrency in the world. So it comes as no surprise that Vitalik Buterin might not have supported Bitcoin in every way. However, he does like to support and create new cryptocurrencies himself! After all, who doesn’t love good business competition?
What’s really interesting about this is that Dorsey had nothing to do with blockchain technology until he became interested in Ethereum – Vitalik Buterin’s newest creation. The other cryptocurrencies out there are just too boring for his taste!
What does it mean when people say crypto is decentralized?
Bitcoin and Ethereum are decentralized because there is no central, governing body with complete power over the currency and its economic system, which means that its development will be more open to innovations and regulation than traditional currencies are. So-called decentralization is also seen as safer because it would be harder for outside agents to try to influence or harm an established crypto economy.
Bitcoin (BTC) has always been focused on individual anonymity as a part of its appeal; whereas Ethereum developer team has taken a different approach by adding elements such as greater transparency in its public ledger, in order to help foster trust among those trading using their cryptocurrency platform.
The argument that shows why both are at fault
The disagreement between Vitalik Buterin and Jack Dorsey originated over the protocol of choice. Buterin believed bitcoin had fundamental problems with scaling that couldn’t be resolved, while Dorsey sided with bitcoin’s capabilities. However, there are valid arguments from both sides: the ability to scale has been improved in recent months; Ethereum is not as decentralized as many believe. The disagreements, however, have seemingly hindered the public discussion about cryptocurrencies instead of fostering further ideas for either solution.
In June 2017, Jack Dorsey commented on Twitter about his belief that Ethereum would surpass bitcoin as a store of value due to its technology scaling and ability to provide new monetary functions, such as quasi-equilibrium interest rates through bond issuance from smart contracts. At Ethereal Summit in May 2017, Vitalik spoke on stage about his company’s project to provide easy financial services for everyone and encouraged people to join their early pre-sale for ether-backed tokens (Ethereum initially raised $18 million via crowdfunding). This money was used by Ethereum Foundation developers who are working towards an unworkable blockchain. However, the fundamental differences between these two blockchain projects remain unsolved today.
Why it’s important to understand what differentiates them (and why we need both)
The argument started with Vitalik Buterin claiming that Bitcoin isn’t a good currency. Bitcoin maximalists (see also: Jack Dorsey) will live forever in their echo chamber, he wrote. We’ve never had this before, two alphas refusing to back down. The feeling of those words at the time was like lava in my veins, the feeling of being so sure of the correctness of one’s position that the individual finds it impossible to empathize with those who disagree. The Battle of Cryptocurrency Titans
A war of words breaks out between these two titans
The cryptocurrency world has never been the same since the famous debate between Jack Dorsey, the creator of Twitter and Square, and Vitalik Buterin, co-founder of Ethereum. The two were caught in a public war of words with tweets (screenshots) ranging from accusations of jealousy to more nuanced discourse on decentralized cryptocurrencies and economies. The ensuing quarrel lasted for nearly a year before fading away.
Ending with an open question – which cryptocurrency will reign supreme in 5 years?
It’s unclear what will happen in the coming months, but Vitalik Buterin and Jack Dorsey’s fight over Ethereum vs. bitcoin may have just begun.