Choosing the right Blockchain to Develop on?

For junior developers curious about building on different blockchains, discover some advantages and challenges of Ethereum, Bitcoin, and BNB Chain in this comparison.

Ethereum (ETH)

Ethereum is a decentralized platform that runs smart contracts: applications that run exactly as programmed without any possibility of downtime, censorship, fraud or interference from third parties.

Advantages:

Security and decentralization: Ethereum is one of the most secure and decentralized blockchains in existence.
Turing-complete: Ethereum is Turing-complete, which means that it can be used to create a wide variety of applications, including decentralized currencies, dApps, and supply chain management systems.
Large community: Ethereum has a large and active developer community, which is creating a wide variety of new applications for the platform.

Cons:

High transaction fees: During periods of high network congestion, Ethereum transaction fees can become prohibitively expensive, especially for projects dealing with frequent or micro-transactions.
Complexity and learning curve: Ethereum’s Turing-completeness comes with increased complexity compared to simpler blockchains.
Scalability limitations: The current Ethereum network design struggles to handle a high volume of transactions, leading to congestion and slow processing times.

Resources:

Ethereum website: https://ethereum.org/en/
Ethereum Developer’s Guide: https://ethereum.org/en/developers/docs/
Ethereum community forum: https://forum.ethereum.org/

Bitcoin (BTC)

Bitcoin is a decentralized digital currency that was created in 2009 by Satoshi Nakamoto.

Advantages:

Strong brand recognition and trust: Bitcoin is the first and most widely recognized cryptocurrency, this can be advantageous for projects targeting mass adoption or relying on Bitcoin’s established reputation.

Proven security and stability: Bitcoin boasts a long and successful track record, having stood the test of time through numerous market cycles and security challenges.
Lower transaction fees: While not always the case, Bitcoin transaction fees can be cheaper than Ethereum during periods of network congestion.

Cons:

Limited functionality: Bitcoin is primarily designed for financial transactions and lacks the smart contract capabilities of Ethereum.
Energy consumption and environmental concerns: Bitcoin’s Proof-of-Work (PoW) consensus mechanism consumes significant energy, raising environmental concerns and potential regulatory scrutiny.
Relatively slow transaction processing: While faster than in its early days, Bitcoin transactions can still be significantly slower compared to platforms like BNB Chain, potentially impacting user experience and real-time functionality.

Resources:

Bitcoin website: https://bitcoin.org/en/faq
Bitcoin Wiki: https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Main_Page

BNB Chain (BNB)

BNB Chain is a blockchain platform that was created by Binance, the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the world.

Advantages:

Fast and scalable: BNB Chain prioritizes speed and scalability, offering significantly faster transaction processing times and lower fees compared to Ethereum.
Lower barrier to entry and development costs: With lower transaction fees and simpler smart contract functionality, BNB Chain can be a more affordable and accessible option for smaller projects or developers new to blockchain technology.
Strong integration with Binance ecosystem: BNB Chain is closely linked to the Binance exchange, the world’s largest crypto exchange by trading volume.

Cons:

Centralization concerns: BNB Chain is operated by Binance, which raises concerns about centralized control and potential manipulation of the network.
Security vulnerabilities: While improving, BNB Chain has faced some security incidents in the past, raising concerns about potential vulnerabilities compared to established platforms like Bitcoin and Ethereum.
Less established ecosystem and developer community: Compared to Ethereum, BNB Chain’s developer community and ecosystem are still less developed.

Resources: