Bitcoin is money, Ethereum is a computer.

nishio.iconWhile Bitcoin, which went live earlier, in 2009, was designed to create "money," Ethereum was designed to create computers.

fact-checking

o3.icon

Bitcoin is intended to implement an "electronic cash system," as the title of the 2008 paper suggests. The objective is focused on the currency function itself.

Ethereum was designed in the 2013 White Paper to be the "next generation platform for distributed applications/smart contracts" or "world computer."

The contrast of "making money vs. making computers" is generally accurate, as it succinctly illustrates the design motivation for both projects.

Note that Ethereum also requires the native currency ETH, and Bitcoin has limited scripting capabilities, so it is not completely bifurcated.

---

This page is auto-translated from /nishio/Bitcoinはお金、Ethereumはコンピュータ using DeepL. If you looks something interesting but the auto-translated English is not good enough to understand it, feel free to let me know at @nishio_en. I'm very happy to spread my thought to non-Japanese readers.