The success of Ethereum 's recent " hard fork , " taken up by 85 % of users , has demonstrated how its smaller size and ability to make decisions quickly has given it the edge over fellow digital currency Bitcoin . The hard fork split the currency into two versions , which users had to choose between , to get back millions of dollars that were stolen from a crowd - directed hedge fund called the DAO in June . David Buterin , Ethereum 's inventor , said the biggest difference between the two cryptocurrencies was " the protocols ' communities " . While Ethereum has come to a consensus over issues such as hard forking easily and quickly , Bitcoin is " riven , " with any compromise viewed as divisive , something Stephan Tual , co - designer of the DAO said " spells doom for the currency . "
The success of Ethereum's recent "hard fork," taken up by 85% of users, has demonstrated how its smaller size and ability to make decisions quickly has given it the edge over fellow digital currency Bitcoin. The hard fork split the currency into two versions, which users had to choose between, to get back millions of dollars that were stolen from a crowd-directed investment fund called the DAO in June. Vitalik Buterin, Ethereum's inventor, said the biggest difference between the two cryptocurrencies was "the protocols' communities". While Ethereum can come to a consensus over issues such as hard forking easily and quickly, Bitcoin is "riven," with any changes viewed as divisive, something Stephan Tual, co-designer of the DAO said "spells doom for the currency."