Bitcoin vs. Ethereum: 10 experts told us which asset they'd rather hold, and why

• Bitcoin and ether are the top two cryptocurrencies by market cap.
• They may be very different, but investors often choose between holding one or the other.
• Insider asked 10 experts which crypto they'd rather hold for the next 10 years and why.

Bitcoin has long been the dominant cryptocurrency, but recently Ethereum's native token, ether, has emerged as more than just a clear number two.

In 2021, ether has made gains on bitcoin in terms of market cap, and investors are taking note.

While the two cryptocurrencies are very different in terms of their architecture and use cases, both are top options for cryptocurrency investors long-term.

With that in mind, Insider decided to reach out to the experts to see which cryptocurrency they believe offers the most upside over the long haul.

We asked crypto industry CEOs, analysts, co-founders, and more which asset they'd rather hold for the next ten years and why.

Here's what they had to say.

Bitcoin Bulls

1. "We are strong believers in both Bitcoin and Ethereum. That being said, if we absolutely have to choose... we would prefer holding Bitcoin over Ethereum for the next few years. While Ethereum leads in terms of innovation and current use cases, Bitcoin leads in terms of security and proven track record. Most importantly, we believe it's a great store of value and has all the properties of a reserve asset." - Peter Wall, CEO of Argo Blockchain

2. "Bitcoin will be as transformative for money as the Internet was for information. By mid-2028, bitcoin's market cap will overtake gold's market cap, demonstrating that it is the best store-of-value asset for a digital-first world. But it doesn't stop at store-of-value. Bitcoin is both a decentralized monetary settlement network and a digitally scarce asset. Today, Ethereum powers most of the DeFi (decentralized finance) platforms, but in the near future, we'll be able to build DeFi platforms on top of Bitcoin thanks to layer 2 solutions. Eventually, Bitcoin will become both the global standard of value and the monetary settlement layer of the world. For these reasons, I have put most of my liquid assets into Bitcoin, not Ethereum." - Jason Yanowitz, Co-founder of Blockworks

3. "Bitcoin is strengthening its position as a store of value and the narratives around BTC as "hedge against potential inflation" and "potential replacement for gold" is becoming more clear. With all the big firms entering the space with multiple financial institutions starting to hold BTC on their balance sheet, there is more upside and price will be driven mostly by increased participation in the ecosystem." - Ken Nakamura, CEO of GMO-Z.com Trust Company

4. "To me, it's a no-brainer. Bitcoin is the name brand everyone knows and has proven its staying power. Ethereum is the New Kid on The Block and challenger. ETH has been sold as having mystical practical applications, but in reality, it's inefficient, struggles to operate at scale, and is not a hedge against inflation." - Jamie Finn, President & Co-founder of Securitize

Read more: Fundstrat's head of digital assets research walks us through his $100,000 and $10,500 year-end price targets for bitcoin and ether - and shares the 8 tokens he's bullish on

Ethereum Holders

1. "I do believe the potential upside on Ethereum tends to be a bit greater from its utility, functionality, and ecosystem. Voyager's customers, who own both Bitcoin and Ethereum, have shifted their cryptocurrency allocations in the past few months to increase their Ethereum holdings, on which they can earn 5.25% interest APR. We're also seeing our larger investors more comfortable taking on Ethereum's risk and reward profile. The Ethereum blockchain powers the most established ecosystem for decentralized finance, utility tokens, and NFTs, all of which are gaining mainstream traction. Ethereum will also be soon undergoing an upgrade that will accelerate the speed of ETH transactions, reduce transaction fees, and restrict its circulating supply." - Steve Ehrlich, CEO, and founder of crypto-asset broker Voyager Digital

2. "The technological advantage and utility of Ethereum blockchain is far greater than that of Bitcoin, and I think investors are noticing that, as well. There are over $75 billion currently locked in DeFi projects on the Ethereum blockchain, and only 30 days ago, it was $40 billion. For those that believe in the demand of DeFi for services like lending, borrowing, trading, insurance, monetary issuance, they should be paying more attention to the Ethereum blockchain. It's a network that supports smart contracts…they alone carry limitless potential and should be enough for Ethereum to have a competitive advantage over bitcoin and its applications in our everyday lives. I'm in the Ethereum camp." - Tally Greenberg, Head of Business Development at Allnodes

3. "Institutional investor recognition of ETH as a real and valuable asset has been long-awaited and anticipated. I foresee the current trend of Ethereum's price increase gaining more momentum, leading to a shift in capital flowing into Ethereum - as investors become educated on what Ethereum is and how the technology is going to shape the future…Technicals and fundamentals show there is greater long term upside potential for ETH than BTC…Most banks, institutions, and investment funds have mandated investments towards clean, environmentally sustainable industries and technologies. Concerns on how and where the majority of bitcoin is mined today could negatively impact the assets price long term…Ethereum's upcoming network upgrades, EIP1559 and Proof-of-Stake, will make ETH a deflationary asset while providing a reduction in gas fees and reducing the total supply Ethereum. When these two shifts occur, they could push Ethereum over the $1T market cap. Whether Ethereum's network changes ignite a supercycle or not, the asset undoubtedly has 5X more developers, more on-chain activity, and exponentially more active use cases than any other chain." - Megan Kaspar, Managing Director of Magnetic

4. "I think Bitcoin will always have some level of acceptance being the flagship crypto and a perceived store of value within the space. However, the blockchain technology of Ethereum having more applicability and functionality (including recent smart contracts for NFTs) makes it potentially more of an attractive longer-term play. Also, the current price disparity between the two might make Ethereum seem more affordable to the average investor as well." - Ed Egilinsky, Managing Director - Head of Alternative Investments at Direxion

Why not both?

1. "The world can be broadly split into traders and investors. Traders focus on short-term price movements and arbitrage opportunities and rightly are excited by Bitcoin versus Ethereum relative movements right now. Investors focus on what the future will be like, what are the tailwinds driving projects forward, and how value will be captured by some and lost by others. For investors, BOTH Bitcoin and Ethereum need to be in your portfolio right now…Bitcoin has a chance of remaining the leading crypto asset in the world, while Ethereum has a chance of remaining the leading distributed software development platform in the world. Both positions of leadership would capture trillions of dollars of value in ten years' time. So invest in both now." -Matthew Le Merle, Chairman of Blockchain Coinvestors

2. "Bitcoin's market cap as of last week has fallen below 50% of the crypto market for the first time since 2019 and is down over 30% overall since January. In our work with large institutions, we're seeing increased demand for Bitcoin and Ethereum as well as alternative coins. We believe institutional investors and corporate treasuries will hold onto both BTC and ETH assets, as their adoption and the market matures." - Raghu Yarlagadda, CEO of FalconX