Compiled by: Plain Blockchain
Ethereum holders are no strangers to wild market fluctuations. But this cycle? Feels like the roller coaster is heading down.
While Bitcoin hits new highs, Ethereum is almost stagnant, even bleeding continuously. No new compelling narratives. No explosive growth. Just a slow erosion of market dominance, as faster, cheaper competitors like Solana steal the spotlight. Now, Vitalik Buterin has proposed a radical new plan that could forever change how Ethereum operates. 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 that drives 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.
In simple terms:
Existing contracts remain functional.
New contracts can be written in Rust (a modern, popular programming language) as well as Solidity.
Interoperability will be maintained between the old system and the new system.
The goal? Significantly improve Ethereum's execution efficiency and address one of its biggest scalability bottlenecks.
Vitalik even hinted that this might be the only viable path to simplifying Ethereum's bloated execution layer—especially after abandoning earlier commitments to sharding.
In theory, this sounds transformative.
In reality? RSIV might take years to come to fruition.
That's the real question.
Ethereum is stagnant, SOL is rising.
While Ethereum discusses its next major upgrade, competitors are not slowing down.
Especially SOL, which has already taken a significant lead:
In the past three months, it has handled 4.9 billion transactions, far surpassing Ethereum.
Weekly network revenue reached $21 billion, capturing nearly 48% of the market share.
SOL's decentralized exchange (DEX) trading volume now leads all chains.
Meanwhile, Ethereum's data is not optimistic:
The ETH/BTC ratio has hit an all-time low.
ETH ETFs continue to lose assets, while Bitcoin ETFs attract billions.
Ethereum's market dominance has dropped to 7%, about 66% lower than historical levels.
Price performance? Over the past year, Bitcoin is up nearly 50%, while Ethereum has dropped 50%.
Wall Street's choice is clear. The hottest capital in the crypto market is no longer flowing to Ethereum, but rather to Bitcoin and faster Layer 1 chains like SOL.
Even major players like Galaxy Digital are rearranging their portfolios: on-chain data shows they have swapped $100 million worth of ETH for SOL.
The brutal truth: Ethereum is losing its edge.
The state of Ethereum sounds eerily similar to that of the once-great tech giant Nokia.
Just like Nokia in the smartphone war, Ethereum built an exceptional platform that changed the world... but when newer, faster competitors emerged, it struggled to adapt quickly.
The harsh reality is: Ethereum has lost its narrative in this cycle.
In 2017, Ethereum was synonymous with ICOs.
In 2020, it was the king of NFTs and DeFi.
In 2024, the biggest trend in the crypto market is memecoins—and this is happening almost entirely on SOL.
Ethereum lacks a compelling use case to drive large-scale new user adoption. Instead, it has splintered into expensive Layer 2s, clunky cross-chain bridges, and friction in user experience.
Is RSIV a game changer, or is it too late?
Vitalik's RSIV proposal is ambitious. Bold and fearless. It's the kind of major thinking that Ethereum needs.
But the crypto world changes at light speed. The reality is, even if RSIV is flawless, building, testing, and deploying it could take years.
By then, SOL, Sui, Aptos, and others may have pulled even further ahead.
Ethereum is not yet beyond saving—at least not yet. It still holds about $50 billion in total value locked (TVL), still attracts loyal whale capital, and still commands respect from institutions.
But it stands at a crossroads:
Continue with slow, cautious upgrades—possibly fading into history.
Or act quickly, innovate boldly, and strive to reclaim leadership in a rapidly changing market.
RSIV could be the start of a revival.
Or it could become the first nail in Ethereum's coffin if it acts too late.
