On July 30, 2015, the world experienced the happiness of seeing the birth of the Ethereum blockchain on the initiative of Vitalik Buterin. 7 years later, a host of “ Ethereum Killers ” projects are emerging across the cryptosphere. Cardano is the most famous of the “Ethereum killers” of the moment, at least on paper. Now, the famous top 5!
The top 5 Ethereum Killers of the moment
1- Cardano (ADA)
Cardano is one of the potential Ethereum Killers with an ecosystem valued at $31 billion and lots of features. In other words, this blockchain is able to compete with its rival Ethereum. Embedding a Proof-of-Stake mechanism , for example, gives it a sustainable and environmentally friendly approach to network validation and data exchange.
In addition, Cardano incorporates a smart contract functionality that has allowed it to occupy the first position in 2021, ahead of Ethereum and Solana. Note that smart contracts promote the diversification of the dApp ecosystem. Admittedly, the number of dApps on Cardano is far from equaling that of Ethereum, but this is likely to come in the near future. On the DeFi front, Cardano also has work to do with around 300 million total value locked (TVL).
2- Phantom (FTM)
2021 was a year of growth for the Fantom blockchain, especially in the decentralized finance (DeFi) space. The beginning of 2022 also seems favorable for the development of this ecosystem which has seen the contribution of super-developer Andre Cronje . Yes, before his departure , the latter was able to build dozens of protocols there. Surely Fantom management is crossing their fingers that this departure will not affect the company’s DeFi landscape.
It should be mentioned that Fantom does not imitate traditional blockchains since it works on a variant of PoS dubbed DAG ( Directed Acyclic Graph ). This allows it multiple sequences for data pieces, and correspondingly more speed and scalability for transactions and data processing. Icing on the cake, Fantom is a champion in energy saving and discount prices. In terms of figures, know that the said project has a market capitalization of around 3 billion dollars, and a TVL of 6.3 billion dollars.
3- Solana (SOL)
In terms of market capitalization, Solana is very slightly ahead of Cardano: roughly $2 billion. Why such a difference ? Because Solana presents technological advantages brought by the suppliers of the ecosystem. Concretely, these benefits are: high throughput and lower cost, support for storage, identity and supply chain use cases. This will be a boon for Web3 and metaveres players.
Otherwise, Ethereum killer Solana is highly anticipated in launching new features that can compete with Visa in payments and settlements. In the meantime, we inform you of the existence of several projects built there: DeFi, blockchain games and NFT. And since we just talked about decentralized finance, know that Solana’s TVL is $6.66 billion.
4- BNB Chain (formerly Binance Smart Chain)
BNB Chain and Ethereum sometimes have certain points in common without being alike. Launched by Binance, this new Ethereum Killer is sure to attract the attention of users and developers. Its level of decentralization has already highlighted dApp projects like SecondLife, PancakeSwap, MOOX and Bomb Crypto.
As of now, BNB Chain (former BSC ) has already seen substantial growth in the DeFi ecosystem with a TVL of $16 billion. Its advantage is particularly linked to its speed and efficiency. It remains to be seen whether the BNB Chain will manage to put Ethereum KO after the switch of the latter to Proof-of-Stake .
5- Avalanche (AVAX)
This other Ethereum killer wants to stand out for its speed and efficiency. Its most compelling asset is that it has quickly become one of the most valuable smart contract platforms. Recently, Avalanche saw its market capitalization grow: 20.4 billion dollars. Its TVL DeFi has also just reached $11.3 billion.
2 seconds is Avalanche ‘s promise for transactions made on its ecosystem. This represents a clear advantage over the 6 minutes displayed by Ethereum, or even the 60 minutes on the Bitcoin (BTC) blockchain. And it is this speed that has allowed Avalanche to attract giants like MasterCard, Deloitte and also several leading financial and fintech companies.
Another thing to know, Avalanche is compatible with Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM). However, all developers will be able to make the link with Ethereum since the smart contracts built on it no longer need code modification.
Why Is Cardano Called the “Ethereum Killer”?
Given all of the competition to become an “Ethereum killer”, one may wonder why Cardano is part of this conversation. The network is well-behind competitors like Solana, BNB Chain, Fantom, and Avalanche in terms of the ecosystem, decentralized finance TVL, and more. Ethereum is still alive and thriving, and the upcoming switch to proof-of-stake may reinforce the leading network’s industry position.
Moreover, to “kill” Ethereum, Cardano would have to surpass Ethereum in market capitalization. That seems very unlikely today, although nothing is impossible. Ethereum’s users and developers are fed up with the slow network and exuberant transaction fees. Cardano and other potential “Ethereum killers” provide strong alternatives, yet their success hinges on attracting more developers to build powerful and prominent applications. Speed and efficiency are powerful benefits, but Cardano is not unique in that regard, even if it is more decentralized than networks relying on validators.On paper, Cardano has the same chance of being an “Ethereum killer” as Solana, BNB Chain, Fantom, or Avalanche. Whether any of them will get to that stage is a different story. Ethereum 2.0 will introduce many solutions to pressing problems affecting the network. Moreover, Ethereum still has the first-mover advantage, early adoption, and tremendous market share.
Conclusion
All of these so-called “ Ethereum Killers ” projects still have a long way to go to dethrone Ethereum. On paper, this ambition is not lacking in interest, especially for users and developers. It’s up to them to prove that innovations and research always pay off in the future.
Source: CoinMarketCap
