To understand the flippening meaning, you should first know a bit more about Bitcoin. Bitcoin was the first cryptocurrency, officially launching in 2009 and becoming the largest crypto ever since.

Although many other cryptocurrency projects have emerged, none of them have been able to outpace Bitcoin in terms of total value. Still, that can change one day through an event called the flippening. The term was first mentioned in 2017, based on Ethereum’s ability and flexibility to support dApps and smart contracts. Let’s now learn what crypto flipping is.

What Is Flippening in Crypto?

The term flippening appeared in 2017 and is used to describe a potential ‘flip’ in the largest cryptocurrencies. In other words, it refers to Ethereum’s possibility to overtake Bitcoin. The flippening tracker is a tool that monitors various metrics to gauge how close Ethereum is to overtake Bitcoin.

Ethereum was launched in 2015, six years after Bitcoin, but it quickly became the second-largest crypto by market cap. For instance, in 2022, Bitcoin was more than double in size than Ethereum, while Ethereum was triple the size of Tether, the third-largest crypto by market cap. All of this is based on the idea that Ethereum is flexible, supporting dApps and smart contracts.

Moreover, the 2017 liquidity inflow resulted in a substantial increase in Ether’s price, offering ETH supporters the hope of experiencing the flippening. But is Bitcoin flipping legal? There are no inherent issues with the flippening.

Factors Contributing to the Flippening

After learning the flipening meaning, let’s explore the factors contributing to this event:

  • Demand: This is a principal concept in economics that impacts flippening. Ethereum’s smart contracts were greatly marketed and had many uses. So, products and new blockchain launches can impact the demand curve significantly.
  • Filling the gap: It’s crucial to have a product with many uses and be strategic about it. Filling the gap between a market and a specific blockchain that’s always at the top can affect the flippening phenomenon. Ethereum’s MetaMask has proven to be a great inclusion that has adapted rapidly in the crypto space.
  • Competition: Even if Ethereum is performing exceptionally well, increasing competition from all directions could hinder its ability to do a Bitcoin flip.
  • Investor sentiment: Although technological advancements have their own value, what’s important is what traders and investors want. If they feel that Ethereum is a more investible product and a better blockchain than Bitcoin, it isn’t easy to reverse that decision. So, at the end of the day, it’s all up to the investors.

Current State of the Flippening

Currently, what is the status of the flippening of ETH vs BTC? Right now, Ethereum is better than Bitcoin in some aspects. For example, it has a much larger transaction count. In 2021, it continuously surpassed Bitcoin in transaction volume. At the same time, Bitcoin still controls the market regarding trading volume, market cap, Google search keywords, and active addresses.

Ethereum’s potential for becoming deflationary and its proof-of-stake transition are factors that may drive future momentum, but it remains unclear when a flippening will happen. Analysts are divided; some predict it could take a few years, while others don’t think it will happen at all.

The Ethereum Flippening Incident of 2019

In November 2019, a form of flippening took place as the number of transactions involving ERC-20 tokens exceeded those involving ETH itself. More specifically, ERC-20s had 303,000 daily transactions compared to 290,000 for ETH, meaning that the Ethereum network has rapidly increased its overall valuation. That led to many investors being attracted to the network.

Yet, as both Ethereum and Bitcoin are moving in the same trajectory of the macro environment and preventing inflation, it doesn’t seem that ETH will exceed BTC in the near future.

Will the Flippening Happen?

It is unclear whether the Ethereum flippening will happen, as many factors can prevent it, like a surge in BTC price or Ethereum’s absence of hard-capped token supply. Still, recent Ethereum developments, like the Merge, give hope to the Ethereum community for a potential flippening in the future.

Moreover, flippening depends on the total supply of both cryptos. As Ethereum’s issuance of new ETH has dropped, it can lead to a potential flippening.

Conclusion

The term flippening appeared in 2017 and is used to describe a potential ‘flip’ in the largest crypto. In other words, the flippening meaning relates to Ethereum’s possibility to overtake Bitcoin. Factors contributing to the flippening include demand, filling the gap, competition, and investor sentiment.

Even though Ethereum is currently better than Bitcoin in some aspects, like transaction count, Bitcoin still controls the market regarding trading volume, market cap, Google search keywords, and active addresses. It is unclear whether the flippening will happen, and there’s a division among analysts. Some predict it could take a few years, while others don’t think it will happen at all.