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What is the difference between Ethereum and Bitcoin?

Published Sep 18, 2026Updated Sep 19, 2026Last verified Sep 18, 2026Requests recorded in this site’s own server logs, with the crawler identity checked by reverse DNS or IP range.Google12OpenAI1First collected Sep 18, 2026Recent requestsGoogleSep 20, 2026GoogleSep 20, 2026GoogleSep 20, 2026GoogleSep 20, 2026GoogleSep 20, 2026GoogleSep 20, 2026GoogleSep 20, 2026OpenAISep 20, 2026GoogleSep 19, 2026GoogleSep 19, 2026GoogleSep 19, 2026GoogleSep 19, 2026
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Quick answer

Bitcoin works mainly as a ledger for payments. Ethereum is a programmable state machine: its Ethereum Virtual Machine runs general-purpose smart contracts. Bitcoin uses proof-of-work mining, while Ethereum has used proof of stake since 2022. Bitcoin's supply is capped, but ETH has no fixed cap; its net supply depends on issuance to validators minus burned transaction fees.

57 words12 sources

Answer

Sources: EVM design [5], ETH supply [3], and the consensus comparison in the SEC ETF analysis .

Sources

  1. officialWhat is Ethereum? (A Complete Guide) — ethereum.org · accessed Sep 19, 2026 · Evidence page
  2. officialIntroduction to smart contracts — ethereum.org · accessed Sep 19, 2026 · Evidence page
  3. officialWhat is Ether (ETH)? — ethereum.org · accessed Sep 19, 2026 · Evidence page
  4. officialTimeline of all Ethereum forks (2014 to present) — ethereum.org · accessed Sep 19, 2026 · Evidence page
  5. officialEthereum Virtual Machine (EVM) — ethereum.org · accessed Sep 19, 2026 · Evidence page
  6. officialGas and fees — ethereum.org · accessed Sep 19, 2026 · Evidence page
  7. officialProof-of-stake (PoS) — ethereum.org · accessed Sep 19, 2026 · Evidence page
  8. officialPrague-Electra (Pectra) — ethereum.org · accessed Sep 19, 2026 · Evidence page
  9. officialThe Merge — ethereum.org · accessed Sep 19, 2026 · Evidence page
  10. newsEthereum Activates Fusaka Upgrade, Aiming to Cut Node Costs, Speed Layer-2 Settlements — CoinDesk · accessed Sep 19, 2026 · Evidence page
  11. officialLayer 2 — ethereum.org · accessed Sep 19, 2026 · Evidence page
  12. officialClient diversity — ethereum.org · accessed Sep 19, 2026 · Evidence page