Why bitcoin is very different from all other altcoin "cryptocurrencies" - Part 2 - A detailed side by side comparison

Part 1 of this 3 part series introduced the high level of cyber crime taking place in the world of altocoin "cryptocurrencies". In this post, a detailed side by side comparison is provided below to illustrate how and why bitcoin is indeed very different from all other altcoin "crytocurrencies".

Criterion	Bitcoin	Altcoin "Cryptocurrencies"
Legal structure/ Issuer	Bitcoin has no central issuer. A peer-to-peer network regulates bitcoins, transactions and issuance according to consensus in network software.	All other cryptocurrencies are issued via an initial coin offereing (ICO) and are linked to a central issuer such as Ethereum foundation, Ripple, Algorand foundation among others
Regulatory classification	Bitcoin is not a security according to the SEC as it was started by an unknown person or persons going by the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto and does not exist as a way to raise money for a specific project for profit thereby failing the Howey test. SEC chairman Gary Gensler classifies bitcoin as a commodity to be regulated by the CFTC.	All other cryptocurrenecies having been issued through an ICO to raise money for specific projects for profit pass the Howey test. There is a strong likelyhood of all other cryptocurrencies being classified as securities by the SEC in the near future.
Purpose/ Use Cases	Originally intened as an electronic peer-to-peer payment system that is based on cryptographic proof, instead of trust that would operate free of central control. Now used more as store of value or digital gold.	Altcoins are often created to resolve some of the limitations of Bitcoin but similar to bitcoin intended to provide low cost, safe, secure payment system for transactions. Now used for different use cases from meme (Dogecoin), an open-ended decentralised software platform that supports smart contracts and the creation of distributed applications (Ethereum), to create a system of direct transfers (Ripple) to IoT environment (Iota).
Inflationary/ Deflationary aspects	Bitcoin is architecturally deflationary as the total number of bitcoins is capped at 21 million. Each bitcoin in theory will be worth more and more as the total number of issued Bitcoins maxes out.	Some altcoin cryptocurrencies with a hard maximum cap such as Binance coin, litecoin are deflationary. Ethereum had no hard caps and until 2021 was inflationary but an update mandated to burn some ethers whenever the network activity rises to make the cryptocurrency deflationary. Others such as Dogecoin with no hard caps are inflationary
Security, Scalability, Decentralization	Bitcoin sacrifices scalability for the sake of security encrypted with the SHA-256 algorithm and decentralization, and can be expensive at times of high demand. This also makes an attack over the Bitcoin network too costly or too impractical due to the cryptographic strength, and high number of nodes securing it through a decentralized mining network.	Altcoins are designed to address specific bitcoin limitations such as transaction speeds but are highly centralized -e.g. out of the 100 billion XRP, 20% are owned by the founders of Ripple and the remaining 80% were initially given to Ripple Labs. They use encryption algorithms such as ETHASH (Ethereum) which are less secure than Bitcoin and moreover use the less secure Proof of Stake consensus mechanism.
Network Availability	Bitcoin has the largest network comprised of tens of thousands of nodes and an unknown number of miners, with an unparalleled uptime built on top of the most secure database in history. Since 2013, Bitcoin has remained active and accessible without interruption.	Altcoins such as Solana have been subjected to assaults and have consistently experienced prolonged network unavailability.
Consensus Mechanism	Bitcoin uses the energy intensive yet super secure Proof of Work which prevents double-spending attempts and miners have direct authority within the network.	Most other Altcoins are moving to Proof of Stake,Proof of History or other mechanisms which cannot prevent double spend. Capturing control of the network is easy as it depends on staked capital leading to governance issues as users with more tokens can change the rules of the network.
Smart Contract capabilities	A Turing-incomplete script language allows the creation of custom smart contracts on top of Bitcoin like multisignature accounts, payment channels, escrows, timelocks, atomic cross-chain trading, oracles, or multiparty lottery with no operator	Most altcoins provide turing complete programming languages allowing full smart contract capability.
Adoption	Bitcoin could reach 10% adoption rate by 2030. It is already the most widely used cryptocurrency with the most number of users compared to altcoins.	The only altcoin that has a fair adoption rate is Ethereum but that too is at least 50% lower than Bitcoin's adoption.
Layer2 and Sidechains	Bitcoin has Layer 2 networks such as the lightning network to increase transcation throughput and lower costs as well as sidechains	Ethereum also has Layer 2 networks such as Polygon as well as sidechains but this is less common in other altcoins
Layer 3 applications	Chargeable events reportable on self assessment return	Any pension income taken is reportable under the foreign pension income section and as such 90% will be subject to tax at the member's marginal rate
Trustworthiness	The Bitcoin core layer one network with deep storage, and global root trust is very difficult or impossibly expensive to alter leading to its trustworthiness.	Depends on the local regulator e.g. In Gibraltar the Trustee is regulated by the Gibraltar Financial Services Commission
Antifragility	Bitcoin has survived external attacks, attempted bans from governments, and internal disputes over the direction of the protocol. Bitcoin has weathered massive price climbs and drops, and its volatility has declined over time. Bitcoin is the only cryptocurrency with over a decade of experience. The fact that Bitcoin has survived this long serves as a positive signal to many investors, developers, and former critics. Bitcoin’s protocol is enforced by the tens of thousands of decentralized nodes across the world, each verifying every transaction on the Bitcoin network. To change Bitcoin’s protocol as all nodes on the network must be simultaneously convinced to change their rules, this is simply infeasible.	Most altcoins with an identifiable issuer which are fairly centralized can be shut down by a government or regulators.