$ETH Technological Evolution: Ethereum's transition to Proof-of-Stake via the Merge (2022) and subsequent upgrades like sharding (expected in future phases) aim to boost scalability, reduce energy use, and lower transaction costs. Layer 2 solutions (e.g., Optimism, Arbitrum) are already easing congestion, with gas fees dropping significantly since 2024 peaks. Expect deeper integration of zero-knowledge proofs for privacy and efficiency by 2030.Adoption and Use Cases: Ethereum remains the backbone of DeFi, NFTs, and DAOs, hosting over 60% of DeFi's total value locked ($50B+ as of 2025). Enterprise adoption is growing, with firms like JPMorgan and Microsoft leveraging Ethereum for tokenized assets and supply chain solutions. However, competition from Solana, Polkadot, and layer-1 chains could challenge dominance unless Ethereum sustains its developer ecosystem