In 5 Years, One of These Cryptocurrencies Could Be Worth More Than Bitcoin

Under the right combination of circumstances, Zcash (ZEC -4.94%) could be worth more than Bitcoin (BTC -2.24%) by late 2031, as could Ethereum (ETH -1.53%).

As of Sept. 25, Bitcoin's market cap is $1.7 trillion, whereas Ethereum's is $329 billion and Zcash's is $26.5 billion.

Let's walk through what the crisis might be, and then examine how and why Zcash and Ethereum could potentially use it to surpass Bitcoin.

So the debate about precisely how best to secure Bitcoin against quantum computers will not be trivial to resolve.

Ethereum would need a 5.1-fold gain relative to Bitcoin to surpass it, and Zcash would need 64-fold growth.