In July 2015, a group of developers and creators joined forces to launch the world’s first blockchain for smart contracts. About eight years later, in 2023, Ethereum still stands strong, showing even bigger potential.
Over the years, the developers’ dream seems to have been attained with DeFI, GameFI, and NFT projects dawning from Ethereum’s contract support. However, new problems, including high gas and slower transactions, emerged.
What is Ethereum?
Ethereum is a decentralized blockchain network designed to foster the decentralization of financial services. The platform fulfils its mission by enabling users to create smart contract-based decentralized applications.
Owing to its kind of services, Ethereum found itself at the epicentre of the major crypto revolution, including DeFI and NFT. On its homepage, Ethereum describes its main services using the following key features:
- Banking for everyone
- An open interest
- A peer-to-peer network
- Censorship resistance
- Composable products
- Commerce guarantees
However, after its launch and swift expansion, the Ethereum network noticed issues and problems that sometimes hampered service provision. This led to the meteoric rise of Ethereum killer projects.
What Constitutes an Ethereum Killer?
An Ethereum killer is essentially a Layer 1 blockchain network designed primarily to solve Ethereum’s pain points. The idea behind their launch is to give a superior alternative for crypto developers and investors.
Among the problems Ethereum Killers aims to solve are scalability, gas conundrum and speed. Fundamentally, these killer projects enjoy faster transaction times and lower fees.
Ethereum Killer caught the eye between 2016 and 2017 when competing blockchains like Cardano emerged. The birth of EOS in 2018 ushered a new Ethereum killer project into the crypto cosmos.
Today, this guide lists the most popular Ethereum killer projects to watch in 2024.
Solana
Solana has been stirring the crypto universe, distinguishing itself from other Ethereum competitors. Born in 2017 with the ambition to challenge Ethereum, Solana today stands out as the closest rival to DeFI’s number one home.
Its secret weapon is the validation method used, proof of history. The system allows Solana to attain super-high transaction speeds, sometimes over 500K TPS. This starkly contrasts Ethereum’s sluggish transaction speed of just about 7tps.
Secondly, the transaction costs!
Solana prides itself on being able to complete transactions at a near-zero fee. Per the analysis network, Solscan, Solana transaction fee oscillates between $0.0001 and $0.0003. As per Y-charts, this is way less than Ethereum’s gas of $1.176.
Like Ethereum, Solana also supports smart contracts; hence, it can host DeFI, NFTs, and more. Solana offers Ethereum-like services but affords more efficiency at lower gas prices.
Moreover, Solana’s value rose in 2023, notably because of its increasing usage in DeFI and NFTs.
Past network downtimes could continue to hurt Solana in the future. But Solana remains the biggest challenger to Ethereum today.
Cardano
A platform which saw its dawn in 2017, Cardano has thrived among other Ethereum-killing projects. Cardano was founded by Charles Hoskinson, one of the brains behind the launch of Ethereum.
Like Ethereum, Cardano supports smart contracts and Dapp, making it a viable home for DeFI, NFTs and DAOs. More importantly, Cardano developers focused on rigorous quality control to bolster reliability and robustness.
Transaction speed?
Cardano’s developers, Input Output Global, announced in the past that their target TPS is 2 million! Has it attained that yet? NO! However, Cardano’s TPS is still relatively higher than Ethereum’s.
Transaction fees?
Yes, Cardano’s average transaction costs stood at $0.5. This is way lower than Ethereum but still higher than Solana. The network’s transaction fees can be said to be a problem.
ADA, the native coin of the Cardano network, has been trading at $0.58, up 87% from its price early in 2023. It remains the second largest Ethereum killer project, with a market cap of $20 billion.
EOS
Founded in 2018, EOS began supporting DApps and Smart Contracts right away. EOS thrives by tackling the issues that impede Ethereum: scalability, speed and costs.
What’s it’s TPS?
As per users, the network can attain a high TPS ranging between 1K and 4K. Of course, that’s relatively larger than Ethereum and even Cardano.
What about transaction costs?
Interestingly, EOS is currently among the blockchain networks offering 100% gasless transactions. This means EOS is cheaper than Ethereum and every other Ethereum slaying project.
Polkadot
As a key player in the web3 revolution, Polkadot primes itself as a potential Ethereum killer. The idea behind Polkadot is fostering multichain scalability and security.
With a unique architecture, Polkadot allows developers to create blockchains and parachains. These harness the speed and scalability of Polkadot to enjoy more transaction efficiency.
Its native coin, DOT, was 12th in Coinmarketcap rankings when writing this report. It traded at $6 and had a market cap of over $8 billion.
Polygon (MATIC)
Polygon started as simply a layer 2 designed to bring scalability and flexibility to Ethereum. However, the network evolved into a fully-fledged Ethereum killer project with time.
Polygon gives users the autonomy to own their blockchains, ensuring the security benefits synonymous with Ethereum. Furthermore, it facilitates communication among diverse blockchains, including Ethereum.
Avalanche (AVAX)
Avalanche tri-chain architecture has been a work of wonders in the crypto space. The innovation brings better transaction speed and adaptability. As a result, Avalanche becomes a more efficient platform for DeFi applications.
When writing this report in December 2023, AVAX, the native token of Avalanche, was trading at $41, with a market cap of $15 billion.
Fantom (FTM)
Fantom Chain’s use of an acyclic graph (DAG) network, a superior variation of the Proof-of-Stake (PoS) mechanism, is the primary reason the network is seen as an Ethereum challenger. This technology bolsters efficiency and scalability while reducing fees.
Stellar (XLM)
Stellar leverages the Federated Byzantine Agreement (FBA) protocol, bringing higher transaction speed than ETH at 20 TPS. It brings cheaper, more energy-efficient, and global payment solutions.
NEAR Protocol (NEAR)
The NEAR Protocol, renowned for its innovative Rainbow Bridge technology, emerged as a potential rival to Ethereum. One of its main perks is its ability to let ETH token holders operate on both the Ethereum and NEAR chains. The network also brings lower fees and a robust market cap of $4.4 billion.
Tron
Tron’s biggest offering in its quest to kill Ethereum is scalability and speed. The network achieves 2000 tps with very low gas charges. However, its lack of good security and decentralization deny it an actual chance of beating Ethereum.
Tezos
Finally, to close our list, we have Tezos!
Project Tezos, capable of hosting smart contracts, was conceptualized and launched in 2018. In essence, it was created as the ultimate home for decentralized applications, which include DeFI, NFT and even GameFI projects.
Tezos has a very low transaction speed of about 40 TPS; hence, it is not a significant upgrade from Ethereum.
Hurdles for Ethereum Killers
In their pursuit of dominance in the blockchain realm, Ethereum Killers faced a new set of hurdles. Among them are:
- Slow adoption rate — Since most, if not all, killer projects were born after Ethereum, they have a relatively smaller ecosystem with fewer dApps. It’s becoming harder for these projects to attract users.
- Interoperability – Most Ethereum killers lack cross-chain interoperability, which is increasingly becoming a demand in today’s crypto realm.
- Regulatory hurdles — Yes, these affect all crypto projects, as many watchdogs across the globe have increased scrutiny on new platforms
- Security — As the Ethereum killer projects grow, they become targets for cyber attacks.
Will Ethereum Killers Kill ETH?
Finally, the big question is, do the Ethereum killer projects have the potential to kill Ethereum? Well, the answer could be both yes and no!
Most of these projects have capitalized on bringing quicker and cheaper transaction alternatives than Ethereum. Note this: Albeit its constant strides towards improvement, Ethereum is still stuck at 20 TPS as we step into 2024. Its transaction costs are still a big pain to developers and investors.
Crypto enthusiasts have yet to see the professed impact of Ethereum’s beacon chain merge on gas fees and speed issues.
But while they have potential, will they kill Ethereum? NO!
Most analysts agree that the Ethereum killer narrative is dangerous for the crypto realm. Similar projects can co-exist and compete with each other.
Moreover, most projects following the Ethereum killer narrative focus mainly on efficiency at the expense of decentralization.
Solana is a good example. At the peak of its growth in 2022, the network suffered several outages as transactions surged. None of the Ethereum killer projects have simultaneously solved the blockchain trilemma of scalability, security, and decentralization. As such, Ethereum will likely remain in the lead.
Furthermore, having started earlier, the Ethereum blockchain had a headstart in terms of growth and reputation. Its large share in the DeFI, NFT and GameFI markets is a testament to its unmatched growth.
In conclusion: The Ethereum Killers
As the dynamic world of cryptocurrency evolves, the term “Ethereum Killer” proves to be more of a competitive stimulus rather than a literal threat to Ethereum’s existence. Ethereum remains the most dominant force for the DeFI and NFT markets, with new players like Cardano and Solana needing to catch up.
Their performance metrics will not just judge the performance of these platforms but also their ability to foster trust, security, and widespread adoption. The ongoing competition has created a race for a more efficient, scalable, and sustainable blockchain ecosystem.
FAQs
Why Are They Called Ethereum Killers?
The name is rooted in the mere idea that these projects possess the potential to replace Ethereum as the leading smart contract platform.
How Do Ethereum Killers Achieve Faster Transaction Speeds?
Ethereum killers leverage mechanisms like sharding and special consensus algorithms to achieve superior speeds.
Are Ethereum Killers More Secure Than Ethereum?
No! The one area where these killers fail in their quest to kill Ethereum is security.
What Impact Did Ethereum 2.0 Have on Ethereum Killers?
Ethereum 2.0 was expected to mitigate many current limitations of Ethereum, offering increased scalability and speed. But, over one year since its adoption, Ethereum is still struggling.
Are Ethereum Killers as Decentralized as Ethereum?
NO! The degree of decentralization varies among Ethereum killers. Most such projects sacrifice a degree of decentralization for scalability and speed.
