Bitcoin vs Ethereum comparison

Bitcoin has a limited supply of 21 million that creates a "built-in scarcity". Moreover, this scarcity enables Bitcoin to hold the cryptocurrency for long term because it is limited. As demand increases, the price of bitcoin will increase as well. Therefore, unlike Dogecoin, investors choose to hold bitcoin over a longer duration.

Ethereum platform has an unlimited supply of coins, but it has an annual maximum supply of 18 million ETH. Ethereum has an inflationary supply style. On the Ethereum platform, it produces and spends a lot of new Ether every day. As the amount of ETC increases, the coin will steadily lose its value. Therefore, Ethereum promotes spending and lowers entry costs for the newcomers.

There are four main types to mine for Bitcoin:

1. Cloud mining: Cloud mining is a mechanism to mine any cryptocurrency by using rented cloud computing power and not having to install it. One can directly run the hardware and the related software. The Cloud mining firms enable people to open their account and remotely participate in the process of cryptocurrency mining for a basic cost. This makes mining accessible to a broader number of people around the globe. Since this form of mining is done via cloud, it reduces issues of maintenance of the equipment or direct energy costs.

2. CPU mining: CPU means central processing unit, and it's believed to be the brain of a computer because it controls all the operations for all parts. CPUs perform all sorts of data processing operations, and without CPUs, a computer will not work properly. In the initial days of Bitcoin, one could mine it on its CPU. Later on, as mining became more competitive, this method wasn’t feasible. However, there are other blockchains, which can be mined using the CPU today.

3. GPU mining: GPU mining includes the use of a gaming computer's graphics processing unit to resolve intricate math problems to verify electronic transactions on a blockchain. Usually, to mine a cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin and Dogecoin, the digital coins has to be built on a blockchain architecture that supports proof-of-work (PoW) mining.

4. ASIC mining: The ASIC, an application-specific integrated circuit, is a chip that is used only for one purpose. In the beginning, it was possible to mine Bitcoin using a CPU/GPU, but as it got more competitive this method changed. Today, ASIC chips are used to mine Bitcoin. In fact, the majority of the large-scale blockchain mines run on ASIC machines because these machines are purpose-built. They prove to be more reliable and effective at mining.

The several types of mining Ethereum are listed below:

1. CPU Mining: While doing CPU mining, it utilizes the miner's central processing unit for mining Ethereum. Earlier this used to be a viable option, but now it is declined in popularity due to dwindling profits. To begin CPU mining Ethereum you need a computer and some software programs.

2. GPU Mining: This type of mining is one of the most popular methods of mining cryptocurrencies, including Ethereum. The miners simply use one or various graphics processing units to mine Ethereum. It's efficient and relatively cheap to build a mining rig comprising GPUs. A standard Ethereum mining rig requires a motherboard, a processor, and a rig frame, which houses the graphics cards.

3. ASIC Mining: Application-Specific Integrated Circuits (ASIC) refers to the specific devices that perform crypto mining. Compared to the above methods, ASIC mining produces lots of ETH because of its immense computational/processing power. In fact, the miners who use CPUs and GPUs can't keep up with the ASIC miners with regards to hash speeds and earnings.

4. Cloud mining: Cloud mining is one of the best ways to mine Ethereum. It's a process where miners pay an entity to rent out their mining rigs. An agreement is made in which it states that all the earnings the rig makes will get transferred to the miner's crypto wallet. However, one disadvantage of cloud mining is that the individual has to pay the funds upfront, and it will not get its money back if the ETH's price drops. Moreover, it won't be able to change the software and hardware provided by the cloud mining company.

5. Solo Mining: Although solo mining or mining alone may appear to be a plausible method of mining, the competition is pretty high because of the number of participants involved in the network. This method will be profitable only if you have enough resources to have a big presence in the network. Moreover, maintaining many mining rigs will tremendously increase your electricity bills, especially if you install more than ten graphics cards.

6. Pool mining (recommended): In this type of method, a group of cryptocurrency miners come together and combine their computational resources into a mining pool. This strengthens their possibility of gaining a block, leading to more profits.