Which cryptocurrency reigns supreme: Ethereum or Cardano? In this showdown of Layer-1 blockchains, let’s explore ADA and its price—could it be the ultimate cryptocurrency to invest in?
Ethereum is facing a significant challenge, which can be summed up by a word that starts with ‘C’ and has three syllables.
That word? ‘Calcium.’ Ethereum’s founder, Vitalik Buterin, could use a bit more of it.
Have you seen him? Rumor has it he used to live on less than $20 a day. I should consider adopting that lifestyle to save some cash.
Ethereum’s greater concern begins with the letter “C”—Cardano, one of its primary competitors.
Let’s throw these two cryptocurrencies into the ring to see which one comes out victorious.
Round 1: Ethereum Vs. Cardano – The Founders
Ethereum was launched by a group of five individuals, with three additional co-founders joining later. Among this initial team was Cardano’s founder, mathematician Charles Hoskinson.
At just 33 years old, Hoskinson is a fascinating figure. In Matthew Leising’s book, *Out of the Ether*, other Ethereum co-founders describe him as a pathological liar and a sociopath, not someone you’d trust around your girlfriend.
Joe Lubin, another Ethereum co-founder and the founder of Consensys and Metamask, reported that Charles attempted to convince others he was Satoshi Nakamoto, even providing emails to claim he had invented Bitcoin. As a result, he was dismissed from the project after just six months.
Now, Charles Hoskinson presents a completely different image. He comes across as a vibrant, charismatic leader, generally well-respected within the crypto community.
Vitalik Buterin is equally intriguing.
After contributing to *Bitcoin Magazine* as a teenager, Buterin left the University of Waterloo to travel and deepen his knowledge about cryptocurrency.
He developed a strong aversion to centralization after a game update in his favorite game, “World of Warcraft,” disregarded the preferences of its players. In 2014, alongside Charles Hoskinson and Dr. Gavin Wood (creator of Polkadot), he created Ethereum, launching the concept of programmable money.
“If *World of Warcraft* moves onto Ethereum, I’ll consider playing again.” — Vitalik Buterin
Despite their substantial followings, both Vitalik and Charles have been polarizing figures in the cryptocurrency world. Their history of conflict is apparent, as they have both indirectly criticized each other’s maturity in various podcasts.
Round 2: Ethereum Vs. Cardano – The Tech Behind Them
In 2024, Ethereum’s Dencun upgrade introduced “blob space,” significantly improving Layer 2 storage and reducing transaction costs by 10 to 100 times. While this was a considerable success for scalability, it didn’t attract much market excitement—Ethereum trailed Bitcoin, with returns of 46.3% compared to Bitcoin’s impressive 121.4%.
Looking ahead to 2025, Ethereum is gearing up for the Pectra upgrade, which promises to enhance transaction speeds and improve communication among validators to solve ongoing network issues. However, even with multiple upgrades planned, Ethereum must contend with fierce competition in the blockchain space, where relevance is crucial.
During 2024, Cardano focused on refining its ecosystem, enhancing smart contracts, and achieving moderate success. Yet, signs of trouble were evident—network activity dwindled, and transaction volumes dramatically declined by December, indicating a waning interest from investors.
For 2025, Cardano plans to implement the Plomin hard fork, aiming to establish decentralized governance through a phased voting system, pushing toward a blockchain free from centralized control.
Round 3: Comparing Ecosystems
Ethereum hosts the largest cryptocurrency ecosystem available, featuring thousands of altcoins, decentralized applications (dApps), NFTs, and reliable stablecoins such as DAI.
Here’s a brief overview:
- DeFi: Uniswap, Aave, MakerDAO
- NFTs: Rarible, Opensea, CryptoKitties, CryptoPunks
- Games: Alien Worlds, Axie Infinity, Decentraland
- Utilities: Metamask, Chainlink, VeChain, Brave Browser, DAI
Cardano’s ecosystem is maturing, with dApps like MinSwap taking the lead. MinSwap, a decentralized exchange, enables users to swap tokens directly on the Cardano blockchain, removing the need for intermediaries. It’s akin to UniSwap, but for Cardano.
Additionally, Liqwid Finance is establishing its presence in Cardano’s decentralized finance sector.
What drives Cardano is its innovative architecture. The Settlement Layer manages ADA transactions while the Computation Layer supports dApps and smart contracts, enhancing scalability and security.
Ouroboros, the network’s proof-of-stake consensus protocol, offers an eco-friendly and efficient framework. Coupled with peer-reviewed code and a deterministic extended UTXO structure, it creates a platform tailored for serious enterprise applications.
The Final Verdict
“The engine doesn’t make a BMW a BMW. It’s a part of it, but you need a whole ecosystem, a whole collection of things.” — Charles Hoskinson
One cryptocurrency emerges as a clear victor here. And that cryptocurrency is… Solana.
Just kidding! That was a terrible joke, but it’s staying in!
Two years ago, Ethereum would have been the obvious choice for the winner, but nowadays, both platforms are committed to the long game in striving for the title of the most decentralized and efficient blockchain.
While rising stars like Solana and Sui are grabbing headlines (and market share), Ethereum and Cardano seem unfazed, too occupied with their long-term goals to fret over short-term fluctuations.
If a winner must be declared, it would still be Ethereum, but Cardano is likely to make significant strides in 2025.
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This article was originally published on 99Bitcoins.
