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Bitcoin has been the king of crypto for a very long time. Although the cryptocurrency has remained the top choice for most retail and institutional investors in recent years, the past couple of months have ignited serious questions about bitcoin’s evolution and what the future holds.
For all intents and purposes, these questions have become louder lately with the energy debate swirling around BTC and the need for the top crypto to embrace technological change if it is to survive.
Speaking with Lex Fridman on a recent episode of his podcast, Charles Hoskinson posited that bitcoin’s main problem is that it has been slow to evolve.
“The problem with Bitcoin is it is so slow, like the mainframe programming of the past. And, the only reason why it is still around is because there is so much invested in keeping it around.”
 
 
Hoskinson also excoriated bitcoin for its low programmability, slow transaction speed, and the fact that it does not allow the issuing of native assets, adding that this necessitates a “damn upgrade” for the cryptocurrency.
Core to his sentiment is that bitcoin has all it takes to remain king of the castle but it is presently next to impossible to change the crypto’s base layer. What Hoskinson is stating, of course, is that the flagship cryptocurrency is its own worst enemy. He explained:
“It [Bitcoin] is its own worst enemy. It has the network effects, it has the brand name, it has the regulatory approval. But, there’s no way to change the prevailing system, even when they concern downsides.”
While bitcoin developers are currently working on Layer 2 solutions to improve block times and scaling, Hoskinson believes these are mostly centralized and very fragile. The insinuation he was making is that other cryptocurrencies have the potential to usurp bitcoin.
Ethereum More Likely To Win The Fight
Hoskinson also had an issue with the many attendees of the Bitcoin 2021 conference recently held in Miami. For him, most bitcoin enthusiasts don’t really understand what the cryptocurrency is intended for. Moreover, they lack commitment and are only keen on advising new entrants to “just buy and hold”.
Though the IOHK CEO does not agree with bitcoin maximalists’ belief in a winner-takes-all system, he thinks key changes to bitcoin’s protocol, such as improvements to the blockchain’s proof-of-work algorithm would make it highly competitive.
Meanwhile, Hoskinson is lauding ethereum. While the former ethereum co-founder has previously had issues with Vitalik Buterin and the second-largest blockchain, he thinks the Ethereum community is more open to growth and network enhancements than the bitcoin community.
As a matter of fact, Hoskinson told podcaster Fridman that his money is on ethereum.
“If I had to bet on just those two systems, Bitcoin or ethereum, I would say 9 times out of 10, Ethereum would win the fight.”
When it’s all said and done, Hoskinson is of the opinion that Cardano will ultimately outstrip ethereum. Besides having an already functioning proof-of-stake eco-friendly consensus mechanism, Cardano is also very close to launching smart contracts.
