Research · Ethereum
Bitcoin and Ethereum, compared on their own terms
The two networks are close enough in age and ambition that they invite direct comparison, and different enough in design that most of those comparisons mislead. Bitcoin's supply rule is fixed in the protocol and changes only through a consensus upgrade that every node must adopt; Ethereum's supply is a managed quantity, adjusted through protocol changes and the fee-burning mechanism introduced with EIP-1559. Neither arrangement is a failure of the other. They are answers to different questions about what a monetary network should optimise for.
The pages below state the window and the source behind every figure, and they mark clearly where a mechanism is proposed rather than deployed. Nothing here is a forecast, and no comparison is a recommendation. Where a calculation would genuinely help, the writing points to a tool that does that work properly rather than embedding a calculator in the reference material.
Monetary Models
Monetary Models
Bitcoin's issuance is fixed by a rule that no participant can change unilaterally; Ethereum's supply is managed through protocol updates and fee burning. These pages set the two arrangements side by side and cite each network's own specification for every claim.
Consensus and Design
Consensus and Design
Proof of work and proof of stake make rewriting history expensive in different ways, and each assumes something different about the participants securing it. The pages here work through what each mechanism buys and what it gives up.
Execution Mechanics
Execution Mechanics
Ethereum's execution layer is an account-based state machine with a metered virtual machine on top of it. These pages work through the account model, the machine itself, the fee market, the transaction format and the contract patterns that follow from all four.
- Account ModelExternally owned and contract accounts, the nonce, address derivation and the state trie.
- The EVMThe 256-bit stack machine, its memory and storage areas, the opcode families and gas metering.
- Gas & Gas FeesGas as a unit of work, the EIP-1559 base and priority fees, and why the base fee is burned.
- Transactions & NoncesTransaction fields, the nonce that orders them, the typed envelopes, and stuck transactions.
- Smart ContractsDeployment, storage layout, call against delegatecall, and the proxy upgrade pattern.
Consensus Mechanics
Consensus Mechanics
Ethereum's consensus layer is a separate chain with its own registry, its own time structure and its own penalties. These pages cover the beacon chain, the duties a validator performs, what those duties earn, what slashing punishes, and how a checkpoint becomes final.
- Proof of StakeThe beacon chain, slots, epochs and committees, and the validator lifecycle from deposit to exit.
- Validators & AttestationsThe source, target and head votes, committee assignment, aggregation and what each duty earns.
- Staking Rewards & PenaltiesThe components of validator income, the issuance curve, and the penalties for going offline.
- SlashingThe two slashable offences, the correlation penalty, and the ejection and exit queue.
- FinalityJustification, finalisation, the checkpoint structure, and the reorg limits that follow.
- Execution & Consensus LayersWhy a node runs two clients, what each holds, and the engine API that joins them.
Scaling and Block Space
Scaling and Block Space
Ethereum's base layer is deliberately expensive, and the work of scaling happens above it. These pages cover the rollup model, the blob space that carries rollup data, the sequencers that order it, the state that every node must carry, and the market that has grown up around ordering blocks.
- RollupsThe rollup model, optimistic against zero-knowledge settlement, and what a user is trusting.
- Blobs & Data AvailabilityBlob transactions, KZG commitments, the separate blob fee market, and why availability is safety.
- L2 SequencersWhat a sequencer orders, why ordering is valuable, and how forced inclusion limits its power.
- State Growth & StorageThe state trie, how a storage write is priced, and the statelessness and history-expiry proposals.
- MEV & Block BuildingWhere extractable value comes from, the searcher, builder, relay and proposer roles, and PBS.
The reference pages behind the comparison
The pages above explain the comparison. These hold the underlying record and the methodology, for when you want to check a figure or follow a source.