Nov 08, 2016 at 16:16 // Blockchain

Nina Lyon Author

Students of business schools predicted two-to-one that a Bitcoin-weighted portfolio is a better long-term investment than Ethereum.

The Kraken Case Study Competition, hosted on Which MBA?, a division of one of the most widely recognized publications – The Economist, invited students from universities across the world to weigh in on which blockchain technology is the better long-term buy: Bitcoin or Ethereum.



According to the announcement, to win the grand prize of $10,000, student teams had to submit the most compelling written and video proposals declaring which was the better long-term investment.



Jesse Powell, founder and CEO of Bitcoin exchange Kraken, commented:

"The question: is Bitcoin merely a prototype for superior technology yet to come, or, does its strong first-mover advantage, entrenchment and value insulate it from competitors? Ethereum is often referred to as 'Bitcoin 2.0', but it's relatively new and untested by comparison. Does Ethereum offer a unique value proposition over Bitcoin? Can both assets coexist or is it a winner-take-all game? How should an investor evaluate each opportunity in terms of portfolio diversification, maximising upside and minimising downside risk? The teams must look at strengths and weaknesses of each technology and their use cases, adoption, project governance, developer and investor sentiment, historical performance and global regulatory issues. The complexity of this evaluation coupled with the tremendous upside potential for a correct bet is why we felt this was the perfect question for this challenge."

The top three teams will be selected by Kraken, however, there will also be a People's Choice award of $3,000, given to the team whose proposal receives the most votes from the public. Winners will be announced in December 2016.

To cast your vote in the case study competition, visit economist.com/cybercurrency.