Back in 2021, and heading into 2022, there was a dominant crypto narrative around the idea of Ethereum killers.
This referred to rival Layer 1 blockchains that were geared towards smart contract transactions and could be used for all the things that Ethereum was known for, enabling networks of decentralized applications.
Ethereum killers would run DeFi, facilitate NFT creation and trading, and open up new landscapes for web3 development.
What made these competitors a supposedly existential threat to Ethereum was that they would be so technically superior, cheaper more efficient and at least equally secure, that, with crypto still in a formative stage, Ethereum itself might become obsolete.
Looking back from the start of 2023, we can see that this proposed takeover, after which Ethereum would be relegated to the sidelines, never occurred.
In the heat and euphoria of an extended bull run, ambitious proclamations can sound viable, but as sentiment shifted ever downwards throughout 2022, there was a sense that time had run out on the Ethereum killers’ opportunities to take the top spot.
What’s more, Ethereum successfully, after many delays and amid constant doubt, completed the Merge, a process which saw it switch from a Proof of Work to a Proof of Stake consensus mechanism.
This shift sets the path for Ethereum to scale better, and, eventually, bring down its unsustainable high transaction costs.
Supporters of alternative blockchains will point out that their preferred networks can already scale better than Ethereum and have lower transaction costs built in, and they’d be right to do so: the entire point of an Ethereum killer is that it has better tech than its rivals.
However, with hugely significant network effects already on Ethereum’s side, simply enabling the capacity for future improvements is enough to further embed its dominant position.
As we tentatively begin to consider the possibilities that might arise in a future bullish period, where does this all leave the Ethereum killers?
Solana
A few weeks ago, Solana looked for the count. Having crashed in price from an all-time high of around $260 down to $8 briefly, the network was suffering partly from having been favored by the disgraced Founder of FTX, Sam Bankman-Fried.
Two of the network’s top NFT projects, DeGods and y00ts, were migrating to other blockchains, and previous criticisms of the network’s unreliability and lack of robust decentralization remained unresolved.
…
