Bitcoin and Gala are rarely mentioned in the same sentence as the two blockchain projects represent very different aspects of the market. However, they are both tokens that investors may want to consider adding to their portfolios - albeit for different reasons.
Bitcoin remains the undisputed king of cryptocurrency. It is the most popular and most widely known token in existence and this is reflected in the high price that BTC trades for. But when considering its real-world use case, it’s fair to say that Bitcoin is fairly limited.
Blockchain technology is now used in just about every area of business, communication and entertainment. Gone are the days when cryptocurrency was just a means of value exchange. Today it can power everything from cloud-based storage systems to digital art markets. But one of its most exciting and potentially lucrative applications is in the play-to-earn gaming industry - and this is where Gala is hoping to prove its worth.
Anyone who has been following current trends within the cryptocurrency sphere will know that both play-to-earn and Non-Fungible Tokens (a key component of P2E) have been surging in popularity in recent months. Naturally, this has led to a surge in investors looking to gain exposure to this area of the market.
But does Gala really present the opportunity for serious growth, or is it just another fish in an already crowded pond? Does Bitcoin remain the number one crypto asset for the more serious investor? In the following Gala vs Bitcoin review, we’ll be taking a closer look at each project and considering how each one may fit into a diversified cryptocurrency portfolio.
Gala vs Bitcoin - The Fundamentals
First thing’s first, there is very little point in comparing Gala vs Bitcoin from a technical perspective. These projects were set up to serve two very different purposes. However, as with any cryptocurrency investment, it’s important to understand a project’s use case in order to ascertain where it fits into the market.
Gala
Background
Gala Games is a play-to-earn gaming platform that allows gamers to earn cryptocurrency as they progress through the game. These tokens can be used to pay for additional games on the platform or to buy and trade bonuses and power-ups in games via NFTs.
It's important to note that, unlike Axie Infinity, Gala is not a game itself but a platform that hosts multiple games. It was launched in 2019 and has already amassed a user base of 1.3 million per month. So far, some 26k NFTs have been sold through the platform.
The project is intended to become a rival to mainstream gaming platforms like Steam. Rather than provide a novelty gaming experience, the developers behind Gala want to build games that rival mainstream releases. A central part of the Gala ethos is also to provide games that are playable by all - even those who have no understanding of blockchain technology.
Platform fundamentals
Gala is a gaming platform similar to Steam, only it is built on the Ethereum platform. It provides a place where developers can build and launch games that give control back to gamers. The idea is to rival the big names in the video game industry that maintain complete control over their environments. For example, if a player playing a traditional game unlocks awards or buys in-game content, that content can effectively be rendered worthless at any point by the developer.
Gala hopes to change that. The platform allows players not only to own their in-game items but also get a say in how the project is run. Gamers can earn, buy, and sell NFTs through the various games built on the Gala platform. Transactions are validated through a system of nodes, much like any other cryptocurrency.
Those choosing to operate a Founder’s Node. There is the capacity for 50,000 of such nodes and there are believed to be less than 10,000 licenses remaining. Operating a node allows users to earn passive income via a share in the platform fees, as well as voting rights on developments to the project itself.
The Gala token
GALA is the ERC-20 token that powers the Gala platform. First and foremost, it is used as a medium of exchange on the network. Users can use GALA to pay for games, digital goods and other services on the platform.
GALA is also used in the platform’s consensus mechanism delivered via the Founder Nodes. Of course, it can also be traded on the open market, much like any other cryptocurrency. GALA has a maximum supply cap of 50 billion. At the time of writing, there were 7.5 billion in circulation.
Crypto asset investing is highly volatile and unregulated in some EU countries. No consumer protection. Tax on profits may apply.
Bitcoin
Background
Bitcoin first appeared in a whitepaper in 2008, authored by an anonymous writer called Satoshi Nakamoto. The token was then launched in 2009 and generated a lot of early interest, as it was said that this new digital currency could eventually replace cash. Fast forward to 2023 and Bitcoin remains the most famous cryptocurrency on the planet.
However, despite its notoriety, Bitcoin has limited real-world use. Whilst it may have introduced the world to blockchain technology and presented a genuine alternative to cash, ultimately the network is too slow and costly to ever be a viable retail payment option.
But despite being eclipsed by newer, faster and smarter platforms like Ethereum and Cardano, Bitcoin remains the first choice for investors looking to gain exposure to cryptocurrency. As such, the token has continued to soar in value and today it is touted as digital gold - i.e. an asset that investors can use to store value or hedge against economic downturn.
Transactions and Speed
One of the reasons that Bitcoin has never really taken off as a mainstream payment method is that BTC payments are expensive and relatively slow. The network can process roughly 5 transactions per second. By comparison, VISA handles somewhere in the region of 1700.
The reason for its slow speed is that Bitcoin relies on a proof of work mechanism which means that miners on the network compete to solve equations to add blocks to the chain. This is hugely resource-intensive and means that Bitcoin cannot process transactions at the high speeds seen by some of the more advanced platforms that rely on proof-of-stake consensus mechanisms.
It has been said that the power consumption of the Bitcoin network is roughly equivalent to Finland’s, which has drawn criticism from energy efficiency campaigners over the years - though whether this will dampen future price growth remains to be seen.
The BTC token
New BTC is released when miners add blocks to the chain - this is known as the block reward. The amount that miners earn is halved at regular intervals. For example, in 2012, miners earned 25 BTC each time they completed a new block. In 2016 that figure was halved to 12.5 BTC and then again in 2020. It now stands at 6.25 BTC, with the next halving expected in 2024.
Why is this important? The diminishing block reward means that fewer and fewer BTC are being released as time goes on. The total supply is also capped at 21 million, which means that, as the years go by, the scarcity of Bitcoin is increasing, which could in turn drive up the token’s value.
Bitcoin investors also have a tendency to hold the token over the long term, which again means there are fewer tokens in open circulation.
Check Out: Ways to Make (or Lose) Money With Bitcoin (BTC)
Crypto asset investing is highly volatile and unregulated in some EU countries. No consumer protection. Tax on profits may apply.
Gala vs Bitcoin: Which Is The Better Investment?
It’s important to have an overview of why a project was launched and what it has to offer, but this can only tell us so much when it comes to making forecasts. To continue our Gala vs Bitcoin comparison, we need to now look at data relating to price movement.
Bitcoin vs Gala: Price History
The point of this Bitcoin vs Gala comparison is to ascertain which of these cryptocurrencies is likely to prove a smarter investment in the coming years. To do this, we will be looking at several price predictions from industry analysts. However, these forecasts are generated using previous price data, so we will begin by looking back at how Bitcoin and Gala have performed in the past.
Gala
Gala’s cryptocurrency has only been traded since September 2020, so suffice to say it doesn’t quite have the extensive price history that Bitcoin does. In its first few days of trading, GALA hit around $0.0021, before going into a steady decline for the rest of the year. By December, it had a trading price of just $0.0002.
In the early months of 2021, GALA’s average trading price started to creep up. Whilst the token maintained a low price in terms of value, it went from $0.001 in January to $0.031 in March, which represents growth of over 3000% in a matter of weeks. The token price dipped below a penny over early summer, but by August it had reached $0.032. Then September saw Gala take the first of several noteworthy price runs. In just over two weeks, the token soared from $0.021 to $0.117.
GALA held onto its September gains through most of October and the first half of November, until a surge in interest led to the token’s most significant bull to date. GALA was trading at $0.09 on 11 November, but by 26 November it had soared to $0.17 - growth of over 680% in two weeks. Prices then dipped to around $0.47 before peaking again in December, though this time only climbing as high as $0.59.
GALA saw a few more upswings before the end of the year but January 2022 saw the token on a steep downwards slope. By the time February arrived, it was worth less than $0.20. However, whereas the wider cryptocurrency market remained subdued, GALA actually saw an impressive upswing in February, reaching an average trading price of $0.37 before once again going into decline.
Crypto asset investing is highly volatile and unregulated in some EU countries. No consumer protection. Tax on profits may apply.
Bitcoin
Bitcoin’s legendary price movement is arguably the reason that cryptocurrency trading is so popular today. When it first launched, retail trading exchanges dedicated to cryptocurrency didn’t exist and a single BTC was worth virtually nothing. However, just a few years later, Bitcoin was changing hands at $1,242 per token and had already created the world’s first crypto millionaires.
Despite still being a relatively new and unproven technology, Bitcoin continued to attract investor interest and its price kept growing and growing. By the start of 2018, BTC had reached a trading price of $19,783. However, this was when the bubble famously burst and Bitcoin’s price plummeted. By The end of that same year, BTC was worth $3,430.
Whilst the bursting of the so-called Bitcoin bubbled rocked investor confidence in digital currency, it wasn’t long before the price of BTC was on the up once again. By the middle of 2020, the token had regained the $10,000 mark and developments within the world of cryptocurrency had brought it further into the mainstream - which led to 2021 being Bitcoin’s most successful year to date.
In February 2021, BTC surged to a record high of $64,804, having almost doubled in value in just a few weeks. Naturally, this led to a surge in interest for cryptocurrency and the market continued to gather pace. There was a slight cooling off over the summer following regulatory rumblings in China, but these were quickly shaken off and in November Bitcoin soared to its all-time high of $69,044.
When January 2022 arrived, so did the cryptocurrency winter, with BTC sinking to $35.180 as the market slumped. However, it seems that the recovery is now underway and, at the time of writing, BTC had recovered to $44,102.
Crypto asset investing is highly volatile and unregulated in some EU countries. No consumer protection. Tax on profits may apply.
Bitcoin vs Gala: Future Predictions
Looking at the price history of Gala vs Bitcoin tells us how each token moves in conjunction with each other and the wider market, as well as how they may be impacted upon by certain market pressures. However, ultimately, we are more interested in what their future price movement is likely to be.
For this, we need to turn to the price forecasts of leading cryptocurrency analysts.
Gala
When it comes to Gala, the price predictions we came across all point to growth - although some see periods of downturn ahead for the project.
DigitalCoinPrice is predicting sustained if fairly conservative growth. Its price forecast for GALA has the token climbing to around $0.35 by the end of 2023, which would equate to a growth of around 40%. However, this growth will cool across 2024, with GALA finishing the year at a predicted $0.35. Again, 2025 will see small but sustained growth, with Gala reaching a potential average of $0.36. By the time 2026 comes to a close, GALA could hit a maximum price of $0.51.
Elsewhere, WalletInvestor believes that GALA can gather more momentum as its price starts to climb. Its technical analysis suggests that GALA will reach an average trading price of around $0.42 by the end of 2023. However, when 2024 comes to a close, the analyst believes Gala could be worth an average of $0.81. A year later, the token is predicted to be trading at a potential high of $1.36.
TradingBeasts also sees growth ahead for Gala, though its data suggests the token will experience several downturns in the years ahead. Much like the predictions noted above, it has GALA reaching around $0.40 by the end of 2023. Growth is then expected to stagnate over 2024, though GALA should hold its value above $0.40. As 2025 progresses, the token is predicted to drop to around $0.35 by the end of the year, but by December 2025 it is expected to have recovered, reaching an average trading price of $0.46.
Don't Miss: Gala Price Predictions
Crypto asset investing is highly volatile and unregulated in some EU countries. No consumer protection. Tax on profits may apply.
BTC
It appears that Gala could be a good investment, based on the analysts’ predictions above, but what about Bitcoin? Recovery has started in earnest but can we expect the original cryptocurrency to hold its place at the top of the market?
DigitalCoinPrice is predicting that Bitcoin’s recovery will pick up pace throughout the rest of 2023, with the token reaching a trading price of $52,137 by the end of the year. In 2024, BTC is expected to hold its value before increasing to $57,606 in the latter half of the year. The platform expects 2025 to be a slightly slower year for BTC, but by 2026 we could see the token reach $72,745.
Meanwhile, WalletInvestor also believes Bitcoin has largely shaken off the downturn that struck at the start of 2023. Its figures suggest that BTC will high $57,855 in December, before climbing at a faster rate in 2024, reaching $83,000 by the end of the year. According to WalletInvestor, 2025 could then be the year that Bitcoin breaks $100k.
These Bitcoin price predictions are highly positive, but TradingBeasts sees things a little differently. Its technical analysis suggests that Bitcoin could struggle to recover to its previous highs. According to trading beasts, BTC could lose as much as 27% of its current value in 2023, before things turn around in 2024. By the end of that year, the platform expects Bitcoin to be closing in on $60k.
These price predictions are, of course, highly speculative and each analyst has its own criteria for generating forecasts. Whilst they certainly suggest that we could see a positive few years ahead for both Gala and Bitcoin, investors are advised to do further research before adding to their portfolio.
Read Also: Bitcoin (BTC) Price Prediction
Crypto asset investing is highly volatile and unregulated in some EU countries. No consumer protection. Tax on profits may apply.
Gala vs Bitcoin: What The Experts Say
The price predictions we have seen for Gala vs Bitcoin show that both tokens could potentially be good picks for your portfolio. In addition to these forecasts, it's also worth hearing from a few business leaders and industry figures for their opinions on each of these tokens.
Bitcoin has plenty of support from the world of business and finance. Recently, both Mike Novogratz, of Galaxy Digital, and Michael Saylor, an American entrepreneur, have expressed their support for the token and purported it to be the digital alternative to gold - that is, an asset that can be used to store value in times of economic instability.
Even Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak - who has been critical of some developments in the cryptocurrency space - is a supporter of Bitcoin, describing its underlying tokenomics as “pure gold mathematics”
Gala doesn’t quite have the big names behind it that Bitcoin does, but this is to be expected as BTC is often used as a term for the wider cryptocurrency industry and so is discussed a great deal in the worlds of business and finance. However, Gala CEO Eric Schiermeyer has pointed out that “there are 3.1 billion gamers out there, just waiting to actually own their games,” he added that “[Gala] want to be a part of the revolution and look forward to partnering with anyone who wants to play with us.”
Gala vs Bitcoin: Conclusion
It seems likely that Bitcoin will remain at the top of the cryptocurrency tree for some years to come. However, it is still worth weighing up Gala vs Bitcoin as the comparison can tell us a great deal about the potential or particular tokens against the market benchmark, which in turn can help with the planning of investment strategies.
Gala obviously does not command a token price anywhere near that of BTC, but some investors may prefer a lower-priced token as they can acquire a larger holding with minimal outlay. GALA has also shown its ability to enter substantial bull markets too, so in terms of percentage returns, it may well be able to compete with Bitcoin.
Bitcoin remains the investor choice and offers some stability (by crypto standards, that is). But Gala has some exciting developments in the pipeline which could see it become more widely known and, potentially, more valuable.
The price predictions we looked at for Gala vs Bitcoin were all favourable - though some predicted that Bitcoin may take a while to recover from the market downturn. That being said, predictions are only an indicator and should not form the basis of investment decisions.
So which is the better pick? We think that both tokens have the potential to be good performers over the next three to five years, but investors will need to keep an eye on things - especially when it comes to Gala. Gaming is big business but there’s a lot of competition out there.
How To Invest In Gala or Bitcoin Cryptocurrency In 2023
Whether you choose to invest in Bitcoin or Gala - or both - there are a few things you’ll need before you do so. If you’re new to cryptocurrency investing, then the first thing you’ll need is a wallet to store your tokens. This requires some research, as there are many different formats of wallet available.
If you’ve got a crypto wallet, then the next thing you need to do is find a reliable broker or exchange that can give you access to the cryptocurrency market. We usually recommend eToro, as it is one of the most respected names in the space and is suitable for both novice and experienced investors.
eToro – The Best Platform To Buy Cryptocurrencies
Crypto asset investing is highly volatile and unregulated in some EU countries. No consumer protection. Tax on profits may apply.
FAQs
Is Gala a game?
Games-based cryptocurrencies are big business and there are now several major names in the sector. However, unlike some gaming cryptos, Gala isn’t actually a game in itself but a platfrom that offers various games. It can be thought of as a decentralsied version of Steam, using its naitve cryptocurrency to power in-game transactions.
Can Gala overtake Bitcoin in 2023?
There is always speculation as to which tokens may one day take the top spot from Bitcoin. Realistically, Gala is unlikely to be a competitor for Bitcoin, the biggest token, but it still has the potential to offer significant returns for investors.
Where can I buy gaming cryptocurrencies?
Play-to-earn games are getting more and more popular and naturally gamers want to acquire tokens to make in-game transactions. However, you don’t have to be a gamer to invest in games-based tokens. Many mainstream exchanges and brokers like eToro list gaming tokens.
Will Bitcoin recover?
Bitcoin led the cryptocurrency market into a major slump in 2022. However, despite global economic uncertainty, it seems the cryptocurrency market is already in the process of bouncing back and many analysts believe that BTC will be back above the $50k mark before the end of the year.
Is Bitcoin too big to fail?
As institutional investors and big business names continue to pour money into Bitcoin, it is tempting to wonder if the token is now too big to fail. Afterall, Bitcoin is seen as the key indicator for the wider cryptocurrency market. At this stage, its unlikely that anyone will swoop in to rescue Bitcoin in the event of a major market crisis. But only time will tell if this will change - especially as more and more mainstream institutions are exposed to the market.