Part 10/13:
While Ethereum remains the most battle-tested smart contract platform, its future may increasingly cater to high-value, strategic use cases—large-scale settlements, asset management, institutional DeFi—rather than everyday payments. On the other hand, networks like Solana, Aptos, or proprietary company chains are vying for the spot of go-to infrastructure for instant, low-cost transactions.
A Shifting Paradigm
The ongoing trend suggests a bifurcation: public, decentralized chains continue to host infrastructure for advanced financial protocols, while private, permissioned chains serve day-to-day commercial and retail transactions, focusing on speed, privacy, and regulatory compliance.