Can Ethereum survive?

Welcome to the cryptohunt jam where we spend one minute a day to explain crypto. In plain english.

Today, we'll look at another flip side of the crypto world - and talk about Ethereum, so you can get the full picture.

Ethereum is almost half as big as Bitcoin in market capitalization, which is in large parts because it allows people to build an entire financial system on the blockchain. It’s seemingly endless ability to program anything into it, has created the most vivid ecosystem in the space.

But Ethereum is also incredibly expensive. Anything, like simply sending money or just bidding on an NFT costs hundreds of dollars. How come? Well, it uses "proof of work", an arguably outdated validation method, that requires energy intensive computation for simple transactions.

The cost problem is so bad, that buying anything in a reasonable price range is pointless – why buy a $10 dollar NFT if your fees are $200 dollars? Might as well go to cheaper blockchains, like Solana.

Ethereum, in fact, has started to transition to Ethereum 2.0 to solve this very issue by switching validation methods. But due to the blockchains size, the process is moving so slowly that it will take years, because everyone will have to move their money and applications over. And when the next problem comes along, critics worry it'll take years again to solve that, eventually making Ethereum impractical.

So – can Ethereum survive because of its massive size? Or because it'll overcome slow progress? Your guess is as good as ours, but it never hurts to know about the downsides of things!

Disclaimer: This podcast references our opinion and is for information purposes only. It is not intended to be investment advice. Do your own research and seek a duly licensed professional for investment advice.