Bitcoin (BTC) is the biggest cryptocurrency by market cap, and also the most popular cryptocurrency, probably because it was the first cryptocurrency created.
Shiba Inu on the other hand is an altcoin under the category of meme coins. The two are therefore different in ways that don’t just affect how they work, but also how they are used by everyday people.
In this guide, we will help you to differentiate these two cryptocurrencies and help you get a better understanding of how they work. You’ll also be able to decide on which of the two to invest in when you’re done reading this guide.
What Is Bitcoin (BTC)?
Anyone who has ever heard of crypto knows about Bitcoin, because it was the first cryptocurrency to ever exist. It was created to serve as peer-to-peer electronic cash, without the need for an intermediary such as a bank.
This use for Bitcoin was much celebrated as a means of sending and receiving funds safely and without the need for permission from anyone. However as more people began to use the network, it started becoming congested and too slow to use.
The fees on the network also began to skyrocket, so it became unsuitable for use as a payment network. Since then, other crypto projects have emerged which serve as better alternatives for payment. These are today called altcoins.
Bitcoin uses the proof-of-work (PoW) consensus mechanism which many consider to be harmful to the environment. PoW is also generally slower and more expensive, but Bitcoin developers are convinced it is the most secure consensus mechanism.
Miners have to use specialized computers to solve mathematical problems to mine blocks and as an incentive are rewarded with BTC. These BTCs are new and they get introduced into the circulating coins.
There are a maximum of 21 million BTC that can be mined. Already, close to 20 million of these coins have been mined. Because of its small supply, Bitcoin is expected to get massively valuable as time passes, hence the use of it as an investment asset rather than a payment network.
Because of the massive gains it has recorded over the years, many investors now use Bitcoin as a hedge against inflation, and as a store of value in the same class as gold, silver, and other traditional stores of value.
What Is Shiba Inu (SHIB)?
Shiba Inu is the second biggest meme cryptocurrency by market cap after Dogecoin. Like most meme projects, it was created with no particular use case other than the popularity of the Shiba Inu dog breed that inspired it.
The meme token is based on Ethereum, so SHIB is an ERC-20 token. Since its launch, Shiba Inu has grown in popularity among even those despite its lack of real use cases. The growth was fueled mainly by influential billionaires like Elon Musk who endorsed the project.
SHIB also has been used by many investors as an investment, and many of them have earned significant gains from it. However, the team realized for the popularity to keep growing, it needed to work on having some real use cases, so it went out there and got some.
Today, the token is accepted as a means of payment by merchants from all over the world. It is also developing capacity to support non-fungible tokens (NFTs). Also with the launch of Shibarium, the Layer 2 network for Shiba Inu, SHIB transactions are now much faster and cheaper.
There are roughly 600 trillion SHIB tokens in circulation, and this is the total supply. This makes it one of the meme tokens with the highest circulating supply. The token however has a brn mechanism that is meant to keep its supply under check.
Which Is Better?
If you’re looking for a long-term investment asset in crypto, Bitcoin is an excellent choice. However if you’re looking for a volatile alternative you can use to make some quick gains with very high risk, SHIB is a good option.
