Ethereum's Competitors and Challenges

Although Ethereum is a pioneer of smart contract platforms, it has faced intense competition in recent years. 'Ethereum killers' such as Solana, Cardano, and Polkadot attract users with higher transaction speeds and lower costs. For example, Solana can process tens of thousands of transactions per second, while Ethereum currently can only handle dozens. Additionally, Ethereum's high gas fees and network congestion have led developers to turn to other chains. Nevertheless, Ethereum still holds a dominant position thanks to its large developer community, rich ecosystem, and first-mover advantage. The 2022 Merge further enhanced Ethereum's competitiveness by reducing energy consumption and attracting more institutional investors. In the future, Ethereum needs to continue improving its performance through sharding and Layer 2 solutions to meet the challenges posed by its competitors.