Solana processes 60 million transactions per day on average, while Ethereum only manages one million. This proves that reputation is less important than scalability in the current blockchain wars. Ethereum – Is it dead?
Ethereum and its fight for relevancy
The pioneering spirit of the early 20th century has been embraced by many. smart contracts Ethereum () is now faced with fierce competition and internal conflict.ETHThe journey is starting to resemble a steep descent, rather than a gradual climb.
For a better understanding of Ethereum’s current situation, let’s go back in time to November 2021. Its value total locked reached an all-time record of $107 Billion. ETH was riding a wave optimism, as its price surged up to a life high of 4,890.
Fast forward to the end of 2023, and that number had dwindled to just $30 billion — a staggering decline. While 2024 showed a slight recovery with TVL reaching $66 billion in mid-year 2025, Ethereum is still stuck at $64.5 Billion.
Solana is its nearest competitor.SOLThe story behind the comeback of ) is far more captivating. After plunging from a TVL of $10 billion in late 2021 to a mere $210 million in early 2023, Solana roared back to life, hitting an all-time high of over $12 billion this month — outpacing Ethereum’s recovery in both speed and scale.
Ethereum is losing out on important metrics such as transaction volume and fees. Ethereum processed an average of 1 to 1.2 million daily transaction as early 2025. Solana, on the other hand, processes 60-65 millions transactions every day.
Solana is regularly higher in daily fee volumes than Ethereum, which charges higher fees for each transaction. This month, the average was around $5-6 million, with a peak of $35 million when the excitement surrounding the ICO reached its height. inauguration You can also find out more about the following: Donald Trump The 47th U.S. Presidency. Ethereum’s fees averaged $3-4 million, and jumped to $15 millions on Trump’s inaugural day.
We’ll dive into Ethereum to see how the once pioneering blockchain is now in a race for its life.
The Ethereum Foundation’s Identity Crisis
Ethereum struggles extend beyond technological challenges. Ethereum’s struggles are not limited to technological hurdles. Ethereum Foundation The (EF) nonprofit, which was long regarded as the foundation of Ethereum development is in turmoil.
The EF has been struggling with identity due to internal discontent and growing competition. Ethereum’s future is also in a precarious position.
Vitalik Buterin stepped in to change the leadership structure of the EF after being under pressure.
Buterin quietly worked on a restructuring project for over a full year to address inefficiencies, and improve communication between Ethereum developers and the EF.
“We are in the process of large changes to EF leadership structure,” Buterin stated in a recent X posting that the ultimate aim is to establish a “proper board” To guide the foundation.
This effort is not without controversy. Buterin is accused by some of undermining Ethereum’s spirit of decentralization with his central role. Others view it as a needed intervention to rescue the EF’s deteriorating reputation.
Its ‘Ethnic cleansing’ strategy is one of the most divisive strategies employed by EF. reliance On the a “rollup-centric” The roadmap prioritizes scaling Ethereum by layer-2 solutions.
These rollups may have increased transaction speed and decreased costs but they also introduce new risks such as reduced security guarantees and declining revenue from base fees for Ethereum’s main network.
The critics argue that the EF is unable to provide a solution for long-term scale-up that competitors like Solana already have. achieved.
Solana’s capability to handle millions per day of transactions with fees that are near zero has now become an obvious benchmark. Ethereum struggles to keep up.
The controversy is a major factor in the turmoil. surrounding Aya MIYAGUCHI, executive director at the EF. Her leadership has been dogged by accusations of inefficiency, conflict of interest scandals and social media campaigns calling for resignation.
Miyaguchi continues to hold her position, but the reaction has intensified, and some have even resorted personal insults and threats.
Buterin took X, who was clearly frustrated by these actions, to express his disapproval. “pure evil,” Warning that top Ethereum developers are being driven away.
“Some of Ethereum’s best devs have been messaging me recently, expressing their disgust with the toxic social media environment,” Vitalik has recently responded to calls by critics for leadership changes in the EF.
He sharply critiqued, “YOU ARE MAKING MY JOB HARDER,” Slamming social media trolling and angry users as anger over stagnant innovations and an hostile online community takes center stage.
Second Foundation – A different vision for Ethereum?
In December 2024, Konstantin Lomashuk, the founder of Lido — a protocol managing over 28% of Ethereum’s staked ETH — dropped a hint on X about plans to reshape Ethereum’s ecosystem.
It was the first time he had heard of this idea. “Second Foundation,” The initial tease was to bring competition into Ethereum’s decision-making and leadership processes.
Lomashuk reiterated this vision Jan. 22. sharing This page is an official representation of the Second Foundation, indicating that it’s not just an idea.
Second Foundation is a new entity created to challenge the Ethereum Foundation and decentralize control within Ethereum. Lomashuk criticised the EF for its insularity, calling it “a sham”. “super deep” Outsiders who lack years of experience in research will find it difficult to access.
“Without competition, we risk losing the right path,” In a post from December, he said. He believes that the Second Foundation will provide Ethereum with new perspectives and accelerate innovation.
The Second Foundation’s foundational principle is to maintain Ethereum’s decentralization, censorship-resistance and introduce more robust governance.
Lomashuk highlighted the plans for dual governance to be implemented in Lido starting Q1 2025 as an example of what the Second Foundation will champion.
Second Foundation also has a vision for Ethereum’s Staking Mechanism, which is a crucial component in its Proof-of-Stake Security Model.
Lomashuk proposed to Ethereum that it aim to stake at least 66% its total supply, saying that this is crucial to avoid validators being concentrated into centralized custodians.
“If there needs to be a limit, it should come from the Ethereum protocol itself and apply uniformly to all liquid staking protocols,” He responded to debates that have been ongoing about Lido staking its dominance.
Ethereum: prominent figures target its future
The EF is working to improve its leadership, scale up its ecosystem and maintain dominance. However, some critics claim that it lacks vision, urgency and a cohesive strategy.
Two key figures in the crypto world — Kyle Samani, Managing Partner at Multicoin Capital, and Justin Sun, founder of Tron — have taken to social media to highlight Ethereum’s shortcomings and suggest bold, if polarizing, strategies for its revival.
Samani, the founder of Multicoin Capital – an investment company that is devoted to blockchain – credits Ethereum with igniting and sustaining his love for cryptocurrency. “ETH was my first meaningful source of wealth,” He tweeted.
His optimism is fading despite its initial promise. Devcon 3 was Ethereum’s annual Developer Conference held in November 2017, he said.
Despite obvious scaling challenges — skyrocketing gas fees and increasing network congestion — Samani was stunned that scaling wasn’t even a focus of Buterin’s keynote.
“How can you not recognize what’s going on around you and set forth a credible plan with concrete and aggressive timelines?” He wrote. Samani explained that this was the moment when he wrote. “lost faith in Ethereum.”
Samani still believes that not much has changed. He calls Ethereum the “new Ethereum”. “total lack of urgency” Its failure to align its leadership with its constituents. There is no clear direction. “North Star,” As he says, Ethereum is at risk of being overtaken in the future by other competitors who prioritize speed, scaleability and user experience.
Sun went a little further, if you know his style of provocativeness, by proposing a radical 5-point plan to revive Ethereum, claiming that his leadership can push ETH as high as $10,000.
This plan involves halting all ETH for three years and taxing Layer-2 Solutions to bring in $5 billion annually. It also includes a drastic reduction of the EF Staff to make it a meritocracy with high performance.
Sun’s Plan also emphasizes increased fee burns and reduced node reward to strengthen Ethereum deflationary tokenomics, while abandoning the layer-2 rollups in favor of concentrating exclusively on Layer-1 Scalability.
Sun’s proposals may appear radical but they are based on genuine frustrations with Ethereum’s shortcomings. The EF’s slow decision making and apparent detachment to community concerns has been criticized since its inception.
Sun’s dream is still questionable. The taxing of layer-2 solutions could undermine Ethereum’s rollup centric roadmap, a crucial scaling strategy. Downsizing the EF would also strip the EF of resources necessary to maintain the innovation pipeline.
Ethereum is no longer a popular platform among developers and the community
Ethereum’s challenges are no longer confined to leadership controversies or competitor attacks — its very community is fracturing.
Beanie, an established crypto-venture capitalist was recently criticised. “Ethereum Foundation is run by a high school teacher from Japan that hates competition, believes in equality of outcome over opportunity, and doesn’t recognize blockchain consensus as a means of governance.”
The criticism of EF leadership as “woke” Those who believe that the Foundation is overly ideologic have reacted to this statement.
Calls for reforms in leadership have reached boiling point. “If Aya Miyaguchi does not step down, I will re-evaluate my investment thesis on $ETH,” Hedgex was declared a cryptocurrency investor while removing all public references to it. “.eth” from his username — reflecting a growing disillusionment within the community.
Eric Conner, an ex-Ethereum maximalist who expressed regret, shared his sentiment. “I am no longer a dot eth. Perhaps someday those in leadership roles will realign with the community, but for now, I am out.”
Seeds of discontent had been planted long before 2025. Mike Alfred, an investor who specializes in value, stated that “Ethereum appears sick” back in October 2023. World computer money and ultrasonic money stories have failed. The DeFi system and the NFTs are largely abandoned. Vitalik is looting this protocol along with other insiders.
John E. Deaton a crypto-lawyer and longtime watcher of the industry, stated, “I’ve never witnessed ETH sentiment so low. Post after post shows people who used to be ETH’s biggest supporters moving on.”
The Ethereum leadership needs to act quickly at a critical time for trust and unity. The network must bridge a growing gap between the ideals it holds and what the community expects. This can be done through better communication or reforms.
Ethereum could lose its position as the leader if it does not adapt.
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