Compiled by: Blockchain Simplified
Ethereum holders are no strangers to extreme market volatility. But this cycle? It feels like the rollercoaster is going down.
As Bitcoin hits new highs, Ethereum has stagnated, even continuing to bleed. No new compelling stories. No explosive growth. Just a slow erosion of market dominance, while faster, cheaper competitors like Solana steal the spotlight. Now, Vitalik Buterin has proposed a radical new initiative that could change how Ethereum operates forever. But is it too late?
Vitalik's new bet: replacing the EVM.
At the core of Ethereum is the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) – the decentralized engine driving smart contracts on the network. It has been a cornerstone since Ethereum's inception. But now, Vitalik suggests a complete overhaul.
In a post on the Ethereum Magicians forum (a gathering place for Ethereum developers), Vitalik proposed the idea of replacing the EVM with a new architecture called RSIV.
Simply put:
Existing contracts maintain full functionality.
New contracts can be written in Rust (a modern, highly popular programming language) as well as Solidity.
Interoperability will be maintained between the old and new systems.
The goal? To significantly enhance Ethereum's execution efficiency and address one of its biggest scalability bottlenecks.
Vitalik even hinted that this might be the only viable path to simplify Ethereum's bloated execution layer – especially after abandoning earlier sharding commitments.
In theory, this sounds transformative.
In reality? RSIV might take years to materialize.
That’s the real question.
Ethereum stagnates, SOL rises.
While Ethereum discusses its next major upgrade, competitors are not standing still.
Especially SOL, which is far ahead:
In the past three months, 4.9 billion transactions have been processed, far surpassing Ethereum.
Weekly network revenue has reached $21 billion, capturing nearly 48% of the market share.
The trading volume of SOL's decentralized exchange (DEX) now leads all chains.
Meanwhile, Ethereum's data does not look optimistic:
The ETH/BTC ratio has hit an all-time low.
ETH ETFs are seeing continuous asset outflows, while Bitcoin ETFs are attracting billions of dollars.
Ethereum's market dominance has dropped to 7%, about 66% lower than historical levels.
Price performance? Over the past year, Bitcoin has risen nearly 50%, while Ethereum has fallen by 50%.
Wall Street's choice is clear. The hottest funds in the crypto market are no longer flowing to Ethereum but are shifting to Bitcoin and faster Layer 1 chains like SOL.
Even big players like Galaxy Digital are repositioning: on-chain data shows they have swapped $100 million worth of ETH for SOL.
The harsh truth: Ethereum is losing its momentum.
The current state of Ethereum sounds eerily similar to that of the once tech giant Nokia.
Just like Nokia in the smartphone wars, Ethereum built an excellent platform that changed the world... but struggled to adapt quickly when newer, faster competitors emerged.
The harsh reality is: Ethereum has lost its narrative in this cycle.
In 2017, Ethereum was synonymous with ICOs.
By 2020, it was the king of NFTs and DeFi.
In 2024, the biggest trend in the crypto market is memecoins – and this is almost entirely happening on Solana.
Ethereum lacks a compelling use case to drive mass new user adoption. Instead, it has fragmented into expensive Layer 2s, clunky cross-chain bridges, and user experience friction.
Is RSIV a game changer, or is it too late?
Vitalik's RSIV proposal is ambitious. Bold and fearless. It’s the kind of significant thinking Ethereum needs.
But the crypto world changes at lightning speed. The reality is that even if RSIV is flawless, building, testing, and deploying might take years.
By then, SOL, Sui, Aptos, and others may have taken the lead.
Ethereum is not yet beyond saving – at least not right now. It still has about $50 billion in total value locked (TVL), continues to attract loyal whale capital, and still holds institutional respect.
But it stands at a crossroads:
Continue with slow, cautious upgrades – potentially fading out of history.
Or act quickly, innovate boldly, and strive to reclaim leadership in a rapidly changing market.
RSIV could be the beginning of a revival.
It could also become the first nail in Ethereum's coffin if it acts too late.
