Ethereum vs Bitcoin: The Queen of Cryptos Dethroned in 2024? JPMorgan Analysis

The rankings of the major cryptocurrencies based on their respective market capitalization have long put bitcoin at the forefront. Following the leading crypto are other altcoins: Ethereum, Tether USD, BNB, and XRP. However, it seems that ether might overtake bitcoin in the coming months. We’ll explain everything!

Bitcoin in decline? Ethereum ready for succession

Is the end of bitcoin’s reign near? While it continues to impress the crypto community with enticing statistics (such as the number of hodlers with non-zero balance wallets, price increase, and a possible return to the November 2021 highs of $69,000, etc.), its younger sibling Ethereum is not lagging behind. For instance, there is an increase in the number of ETH hodlers, a historic record, which far exceeds that of BTC investors.

And there’s more.

EXCLUSIVE: JPMorgan says ether will likely outperform bitcoin next year https://t.co/REnIa5p8XU

— The Block (@TheBlock__) December 13, 2023

“EXCLUSIVE: According to JPMorgan, ether is expected to outperform bitcoin next year.”

The article linked by The Block to this tweet talks about a prediction from JPMorgan analysts stating that Ethereum would surpass bitcoin and other crypto currencies in 2024.

“We believe that next year, Ethereum will reassert itself and regain market shares within the crypto ecosystem. The main catalyst is the upgrade to EIP-4844 or Protodanksharding, which is expected to take place in the first half of 2024. We think this upgrade will likely be a more significant step towards improving the activity of the Ethereum network, thereby helping Ethereum to outperform.”

Report by Nikolaos Panigirzouglou’s team details.

EIP-4844 or Protodanksharding, what’s that? In fact, it’s a step preceding the deployment of Danksharding, an improved version of sharding in Ethereum. Thanks to Danksharding, the blockchain will be given a new mode of sharing, that is, it will no longer be divided into multiple sharing chains.

Thus, EIP-4844 will grant Ethereum new conveniences such as:

• data blobs;
• temporary data packets attached to blocks (more conducive to storing quantities of data);
• and so on.

For JPMorgan, this update will also benefit layer 2 solutions like Optimism and Arbitrum. Protodanksharding will indeed provide additional temporary data space, which will allow for an increased network throughput and lower transaction fees as a layer 2 network on Ethereum.