Beyond Tribalism: The Synergistic Future of Bitcoin and Ethereum

Tribalism has been around for as long as tribes themselves. For as long as humans have been organized into social groups, we have hated the group in the next valley. Even though we have much more in common with them than we care to admit.

Therefore, it is not surprising that Bitcoin miners and Ethereum users will have a long-standing rivalry. As the largest blockchain ecosystems, each running on a unique architecture and supporting unique use cases, there are fundamental differences between Bitcoin and Ethereum.

These differences are not only technical but also cultural. Just as the flora and fauna of Madagascar have evolved differently from those of the wider landmass, distinct tribes of codes have formed their own unique cultures, memes and ideologies over time. In the end, like the Montagues and Capulets, they don’t even remember why they hated each other in the first place.

But it wasn’t always that way, and it doesn’t have to stay this way. There are signs that the rivalry that polarized Bitcoin and Ethereum users is starting to melt. If these enthusiasts could bury the hatchet and work together, web3 would be a better place for everyone.

From divergence to convergence

It’s easy to forget that Ethereum was born from Bitcoin. Vitalik Buterin worked for Bitcoin Magazine and was a regular poster on the Bitcointalk forum. When the Ethereum ICO opened in 2014, it was funded at a rate of 2,000 ETH per BTC. It’s easy to forget that many of the use cases that have now become synonymous with Ethereum also have Bitcoin ancestors, such as NFT precursor colored coins. Even the concept of Layer 2 originated in Bitcoin. But now all that is ancient history.

BTC assumed the role of store of value and global reserve currency, while ETH fueled the launch of 100 EVM chains and 10,000 tokens. In the process, the continental shift separating the two ecosystems was accelerated by Ethereum’s move to proof-of-stake, leaving Bitcoin the only top 20 coin other than DOGE still tied to proof-of-work.

The differences between Bitcoin and Ethereum are stark, but not irreconcilable. One of the most fascinating aspects of chains’ evolving use cases is the way each chain emulates the other. Ethereum is moving towards becoming a somewhat stable store of value in its own right, and appears poised to follow Bitcoin in accepting ETFs.

Meanwhile, Bitcoin has belatedly given birth to its own multi-chain and multi-token ecosystem thanks to Ordinals, BRC20, Runes, Stacks, and similar protocols. Bitcoin-based DeFi and NFTs have now become a thing. Even if most maximalists don’t participate. Whether Bitcoin DeFi will take off is yet to be seen, but it is clear that there is now more joining the two chains than dividing them. Bitcoin and Ethereum have been moving in opposite directions for years, but their paths are finally starting to converge.

Choose technology, not tribalism

Instead of arguing about whose technology precedes whose technology or who implemented it first, the Bitcoin and Ethereum communities have clear advantages that put aside their differences. Just as globalization has reduced petty tribalism (even if we simply replace hating the person in the next valley with hating internet strangers), the multi-chain era has made blockchain wars meaningless.

Bitcoin and Ethereum are no longer isolated islands, but interconnected hubs where value is routinely exchanged through bridges, portals, and wrappers. Isn’t it time to start exchanging developer talent as well? It is the builder’s responsibility to find ways in which the two technology stacks can enhance each other. This is the key to scaling web3 and increasing adoption.

The rise of Ordinals shows that there is great interest in leveraging the Bitcoin network as more than just a means of storing value. However, building additional utilities out of the box is complicated because the network is not inherently Turing complete and the simple UTXO model and limited block space cannot handle complex data and computations.

Many methods have been explored to scale Bitcoin, but even the Taproot upgrade that brought about the Schnorr Signature and MAST contracts have all relied on a level of centralization. These upgrades make it possible to design a completely trustless bridge between the Bitcoin ecosystem and other networks, enabling a truly decentralized scaling solution.

The Ethereum ecosystem already has a powerful suite of tools, smart contracts, and applications that can be leveraged to bring more compatibility and functionality to Bitcoin. It makes much more sense for Bitcoin to inherit technology that already exists for a specific function rather than rebuilding it from scratch.

Bitcoin expansion, Ethereum strengthening

An obvious solution for scaling Bitcoin at the consumer level and building new use cases is to leverage the capabilities supported by Taproot to create a trustless bridge between Bitcoin and EVM-compatible networks. This could open up new ways for Bitcoin holders to participate while increasing liquidity within Ethereum-based chains, creating a new wave of opportunities for both ecosystems.

The potential to expand the Bitcoin ecosystem by leveraging EVM-compatible technologies is promising, but perhaps the biggest challenges to overcome are cultural rather than technical. Human ingenuity is limitless, but our tendency to drag each other down like a pack of crabs is still deeply ingrained.

All cryptocurrency communities must strive to find ways to cooperate and avoid the cruelty on which web2 is based. Only when this is done can web3 reach its full potential. As Biggie said, “Can’t we all just get along?”

This is a guest post by Yves La Rose. The opinions expressed are solely personal and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of BTC Inc or Bitcoin Magazine.