I think both platforms are the best and secure in the future and both are the ruling on crypto market but my vote is little more to the Ethereum because it is not expensive like Bit coin .
Yes of course i believe in ICO's because there is many excellent project are running and by ICO i think i can earn more and more . when i can join bounty i can consider project deeply and after that in ICO i can get more profit.
MY suggestion is if you have 500$ for investment then study top 5 coins of the market and invest in all your money with parts and i think by that you can earn profit and no chance to loose.
These days market is volatile and values are dropping. I think there is a correction in the market and secondly there is also influence of big players. when these players will stop play then i think market and values will stable and will grow up.
MY view is Ripple is excellent coin. It has great potential in the crypto market and investors believe in Ripple too much. The popularity of Ripple is increasing day by day. So i think invest in Ripple more and you will earn more profit.
If you want to success in the crypto market you have stay calm,be patience and don't panic. choose excellent project with deep analysis and you will definite succeed and if you will work with panic then you can loose you investments.