比特幣（BTC）與以太坊（ETH）：哪種加密貨幣是更好的投資？

加密貨幣國王比特幣（BTC）之間存在長期的競爭

There's a long-standing rivalry between the king of cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin (BTC -0.52%), and the coin that many have considered to be the heir to the throne, Ethereum (ETH -1.75%).

加密貨幣國王，比特幣（BTC -0.52％）與許多人認為是王位的繼承人以太坊（ETH -1.75％）之間存在了長期的競爭。

But there aren't actually too many similarities between these two, despite what their competition suggests. And there's a much stronger case for buying a lot of one than there is for the other, so let's dive in and analyze the situation.

但是，儘管他們的競爭暗示了這兩者，但實際上並沒有太多相似之處。而且有一個比另一個購買的要多得多的案例，所以讓我們潛入並分析情況。

Bitcoin banks on "scarcity" to drive value

比特幣銀行“稀缺”以推動價值

Bitcoin is both a store of value and to a lesser extent a medium of exchange, fulfilling two of the canonical properties of money. Its value is created by demand from investors who recognize its "scarcity".

比特幣既是價值的存儲，又是較小程度的交換媒介，可以滿足兩種貨幣規範性能。它的價值是由認識到其“稀缺性”的投資者的需求創造的。

Due to Bitcoin's supply dynamics, such as the constantly increasing difficulty mining it, it is more favorable for investors to buy it at the price offered today than in the future, when prices are likely to be higher because the coin will be scarcer on a relative basis.

由於比特幣的供應動態（例如挖掘難度不斷增加），投資者以今天提供的價格購買比將其購買比將來更高的價格更有利，因為價格可能會更高，因為硬幣在相對基礎上會稀少。

So long investors believe in that investment thesis, those who buy it today can safely assume that there will be someone willing to buy it from them at some point in the future.

這麼長的投資者相信這一投資論文，今天購買它的人可以安全地認為將來有人願意從他們那裡購買它。

Note that even in this idealized view of Bitcoin, there's no guarantee that future prices will be higher for you if you buy and hold it; but there is a mechanism by which prices can be expected to rise on average over the long term, even if the aggregate amount of demand stays static over that period.

請注意，即使在這種理想化的比特幣觀點中，也無法保證如果您購買並持有它的未來價格會更高。但是有一種機制，即使在此期間的總需求量保持靜態，預計價格可以長期平均上漲。

Ethereum thrives off its ecosystem

以太坊從其生態系統中蓬勃發展

Ethereum is also a store of value and a medium of exchange. But because it's the main coin of its chain, where there's an entire ecosystem of tokens, it additionally has a utility value, as it's a necessary ingredient for paying gas fees when interacting with decentralized finance (DeFi) applications, minting non-fungible tokens (NFTs), issuing smart contracts, and other functions.

以太坊也是一種價值和交換媒介。但是，由於它是整個代幣生態系統的主要硬幣，因此它還具有實用價值，因為它是與分散的融資（DEFI）應用相互作用時支付汽油費的必要成分，即鑄造非殺傷性代幣（NFTS），發出智能合同以及其他功能。

When the value of projects hosted on its chain increase because they're successful, it thus ends up increasing the total value associated with the chain, pumping up the price of Ethereum in the process.

當託管在其鏈上的項目的價值增加是因為它們成功時，它最終會增加與鏈條相關的總價值，從而在此過程中提高以太坊的價格。

The reverse is also true; if investors aren't buying what Ethereum's application developers are offering as token-based products or services on the chain, there won't be as much capital flowing in or staying invested.

相反也是正確的；如果投資者不購買以太坊的應用程序開發人員所提供的產品，而不是鏈條上的基於令牌的產品或服務，則不會有那麼多資本流入或保留投資。

So for Ethereum to continue attracting more capital inflows in the future than it has today, it needs to continue developing its core blockchain technology to make its chain a more attractive place for developers and investors alike. If it doesn't consistently match its technical capabilities to what's in demand, talent and capital will go elsewhere.

因此，要使以太坊繼續吸引未來的資本流入比今天，它需要繼續開發其核心區塊鏈技術，以使其連鎖店成為開發人員和投資者都更具吸引力的地方。如果它不始終如一地將其技術能力與需求的需求，人才和資本將移至其他地方。

Consequently, it faces a high risk of competitors attracting its human and financial resources with faster, cheaper, or more efficient services.

因此，它面臨競爭對手以更快，更便宜或更有效的服務吸引人力和財務資源的高風險。

This means Ethereum's position is inherently more unstable than Bitcoin's. On one hand it's doubtlessly exposed to more opportunities for growth, as the chain's leaders can pick emerging market segments and attempt to adapt its technology to serve those segments efficiently.

這意味著以太坊的位置本質上比比特幣的位置更不穩定。一方面，毫無疑問，這是毫無疑問的增長機會，因為該連鎖店的領導者可以選擇新興的市場領域，並試圖調整其技術以有效地為這些細分市場服務。

On the other hand, it also faces the constant grinding of capital outflows to newer chains and coins that may be better at niche tasks than what it's easily able to serve or modify itself to serve efficiently.

另一方面，它還面臨著資本外流的不斷磨削到新的鏈條和硬幣上，這些鏈條和硬幣可能比在利基任務上更好地磨損，而不是它容易地服務或修改自身以有效服務。

Ethereum probably won't go to zero as long as it roughly serves most developer and investor needs adequately enough, but it's easy to imagine a future in which it is slowly picked apart by specialists whose only ambitions are to win in smaller segments, like music or sports applications on the blockchain.

以太坊可能不會達到零，只要它粗略地為大多數開發人員提供服務，並且投資者需要足夠的時間，但是很容易想像未來的未來是由專家逐漸被逐漸挑選的，他們的唯一野心就是在較小的細分市場中獲勝，例如在區塊鏈上的音樂或體育應用程序。

Fewer functionalities means fewer ways to get one-upped

更少的功能意味著更少的單一方法

Ethereum's history so far indicates that the risk of competitors eating its lunch are not merely theoretical. Cardano, which is currently the ninth-largest cryptocurrency, was developed specifically as a response to Ethereum's perceived failings.

迄今為止，以太坊的歷史表明，吃午餐的競爭對手的風險不僅是理論上的。 Cardano目前是第九大加密貨幣，是專門針對以太坊的感知失敗的回應。

And Solana, while heavily influenced by Ethereum as well, is largely notable because it succeeds where Ethereum doesn't, as it offers less expensive and much faster transactions. Coins developed to compete with Bitcoin, specifically Litecoin, are far smaller, and also far less relevant in the crypto landscape.

索拉納（Solana）雖然也受到以太坊的嚴重影響，但在很大程度上是值得注意的，因為它在以太坊沒有的情況下成功了，因為它提供了便宜較低且交易速度更快。為與比特幣（特別是萊特幣）競爭而開發的硬幣要小得多，並且在加密景觀中的相關性遠不那麼重要。

This is thus a case where less is more. Bitcoin is hard to usurp because it was developed first, and its unchanging nature is actually part of its appeal, as there are fewer opportunities for it to take a wrong turn relative to industry trends.

因此，在這種情況下更少。比特幣很難篡奪，因為它是首先開發的，而且其不變的性質實際上是其吸引力的一部分，因為相對於行業趨勢而言，它的機會更少。

Ethereum is already beset by competitors on all sides, and there is little chance that the playing field will shift in its favor, even over the long term.

以太坊已經被各方的競爭對手所困擾了，即使從長遠來看，運動場也很少會改變其受益。

So between these two coins, especially right now, when Ethereum is struggling against enemies big and small, Bitcoin is the better place to invest your $5,000. There's a chance that Ethereum will still grow faster anyway, but the balance of risk and reward for buying it is not appealing at the moment.

因此，在這兩枚硬幣（尤其是現在）之間，當以太坊正在與敵人大小鬥爭時，比特幣是投資5,000美元的更好地方。無論如何，以太坊的可能性仍然會更快，但是購買風險和回報的平衡目前尚不吸引人。