Due to Ethereum’s scalability problem, many scaling solutions and Ethereum alternatives have been developed and launched over the past year(s). In fact, maybe even a little too much? There’s at least a dozen Ethereum alternatives out there! Even if we only focus at layer 2 solutions, we can see that there’s already so much to choose from:
- Sidechains:
- xDai
- Polygon
- Skale
- POA
- ZK-Rollups:
- Loopring
- Starkware
- Matter Labs zkSync
- Aztec 2.0
- Hermez network
- zkTube
- Optimistic Rollups:
- Optimism
- Offchain Labs Arbitrum Rollup
- Fuel Network
- Cartesi
- OMGX
- HYBRID SOL
Because of this huge amount of (recently launched) layer 2 scaling solutions, one could easily get lost in this layer 2 forest. To make things even more complicated, let’s sum-up the Ethereum blockchain alternatives out there (and the ones currently in development).
Let’s begin with the exchange-chains, which are smart contract compatible blockchains developed by commercial crypto exchanges:
- Binance Smart Chain
- HECO
- OKExChain
- KCC
Typically, these blockchains are Ethereum forks with a modified consensus mechanism, increasing scalability at the cost of decentralization or security. For example, the Binance Smart Chain has a PoSA (Proof of Stake Authority) mechanism, which reduced the node size from Ethereum’s Proof of Work (PoW) mechanism from ~70.000 to 21. This change drastically improved the scalability of the Binance Smart Chain at the cost of its decentralization and security aspects.
Then there are also blockchains that aim to create their own ecosystem, in which developers can build their own chains (parachains). The most well known blockchains that do this are:
- Cosmos
- Polkadot
- Avalanche
For example, the Secret Network (which is also an Ethereum alternative) is built by using the Cosmos SDK.
Finally, we have the real potential “Ethereum killers”. These smart compatible blockchains usually have advanced structures and mechanisms compared to Ethereum.
For example, Fantom uses leaderless Proof of Stake to improve its security while still being able to maintain high scalability and decentralization by making use of its unique Lachesis Asynchronous Byzantine Fault Tolerance (aBFT) consensus mechanism, which is capable of scaling to multiple nodes distributed across the globe in a permissionless, open environment, providing a good degree of decentralization and security.
Here’s a list of Ethereum alternatives (I’ve probably missed a few):
- Fantom
- Cardano
- Algorand
- Tezos
- Terra
- Solana
- Harmony One
- NEO
- IOTA
- QTUM
Now, if we add all alternatives (layer 2’s, exchange-chains, ecosystem builders and other Ethereum killers) we reach an astonishing number of 33! That’s a crazy amount of options to choose from. So, how do you know which one you should choose? Well there’s a couple of things you should ask yourself.
- Do I want to stay on the Ethereum network? – If yes, layer 2 solutions are your best friend.
- Do I want maximum user friendliness? – If yes, exchange-chains such as the Binance Smart Chain are a great option.
- Do I want to develop my own chain and/or do I have enough programming experience/knowledge? – If yes, take a look at Cosmos, or Polkadot whenever it launches.
Still confused? That’s completely fine. Let’s narrow it down a bit. In my opinion, the layer 2 solutions and Ethereum alternatives that have proved themselves that they are worthy of your trust (and crypto) are:
- Polygon
- Arbitrum
- Loopring
- Binance Smart Chain
- Fantom
- Solana
- Terra
- Cosmos
The final thing I would like to mention in this post is that it’s very likely that most of the mentioned Ethereum alternatives won’ t survive or eventually die due to:
- The next crypto winter – It’s crypto winters that separates the wheat from the chaff.
- New projects (yeah even more) that are more advanced in terms of scalability, decentralization and security.
- Popularity – Even if there’s a blockchain that is most revolutionary or best working compared to its competitors, if no one digs it, the blockchain won’t survive.
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