The world of smart contracts is an evolving vision of what could be in the future and what the ecosystems currently afford. Ethereum launched in 2015, the first decentralized smart contract platform advancing blockchain use cases into decentralized applications. The advancement of dApps as fundamental for blockchains mass adoption ushered in gold rush thinking. New ecosystems geared towards a similar vision as Ethereum started to develop and their proposals are augmentations to Ethereum’s lack of scalability.

In a span of 2 years, new blockchain iterations have succeeded in attracting mass attention. Ethereum’s hegemonic advantage created hurdles for new projects to be considered viable even though their technology is proven to be better on paper; for now. New dApp developers opt for Ethereum because of the organization’s position in the blockchain space and network security earned by the ecosystem as more users joined the digital mesh.

Is There Room For Competition in the Space?

Blockchain technology is not perfect. According to Gartner, blockchain is still “immature” for enterprise use and they predict the ecosystems will be fully scalable in 2023. Scalability is a major step back for Ethereum, which hasn’t created a solution to address both industry and community concerns. As a result, developers have been obsessed with hacking and creating sidechains or layer 2 networks. Besides, Ethereum is backed by a large community of developers.

Implementation of Ethereum 2.0. is a necessity for ensuring competitions will not overhaul the network. However, Ethereum’s slow methodology could be its biggest competitor as it supplies other blockchains with time to develop an adequate ecosystem backed by superior technology. Still, Ethereum has profited from blockchain trends, starting with ICO’s in 2017, DeFi in 2020, and NFT’s in 2021. Although scalability was always an issue repeatedly addressed by Ethereum Foundation, it never catalyzed developments.

Arguments about Ethereum’s blockchain being superior have been far and wide, yet they’ve been short-sided by their lack of initiative in developing a scalable solution. To that end, new blockchain projects have awakened the fabrication of the next technological succession. Alex Springer highlighted that the blockchain hype is over, and other modular alternatives represent a scalable solution for the future. “What if” is an articulated thought among new blockchains that develop alternative technologies while still preserving blockchain fundamentals; if only briefly.

A blockchain that deviates from the norm always has the benefit of the doubt. Blockchain technology is complicated, and that’s how it should be. While market capital authority cannot be bought, it can form through fundamentals, usability, and practicability. Consequently, network hegemony belongs to projects that innovate beyond a meer network fork with heightened promises.

Furthermore, expanding blockchain technology constitutes a step forward in the technological standard. Projects such as PolkaDot, Cardano, or the Graph involve reframing digital intentions. However, they build on the inherited pillars of blockchain, converging towards security, decentralization, and transfer of digital assets. New solutions generate a productive debate within the industry, which only helps understanding and development in the space.

On the Flipside

• More integration of Blockchain technology will create a market with different solutions depending on the use cases.
• Switching to Proof-of-Stake (PoS) will make Ethereum miners consider other PoW alternatives and reduce the community’s size.
• Ethereum’s Solidity will create a more considerable demand for easier programming languages to develop blockchains in the future.

Will There Be Opportunity After Ethereum 2.0?

Ethereum 2.0. researcher Justin Drake highlighted that the community is in favor of pushing the merger towards PoS, and he thinks this will happen in 2021. Furthermore, Ethereum provided a solution that has been altered and expanded by many contenders. Cardano focuses on developing its dual-layer blockchain from a scientific perspective, and PolkaDot drafts a new framework for developers and facilitates scalability through heterogeneous parachains.

New projects struggle with proving their concept is reliant. Innovations in the blockchain space make comparing distinct types of blockchain like comparing apples and oranges. However, as decentralized technology is reaching a discovery phase among mass users as they begin to understand the use cases of blockchain, it is hard to imagine that interest in different solutions will decrease.

Blockchain projects thrive when their technology is articulated by developers and is backed by a large, dedicated community. Additionally, PolkaDot and Cardano, founders are known within the blockchain space and have been involved in the early development of Ethereum.