The previous article summarized the changes in Ethereum upgrades, the price fluctuations of Ether, and why there hasn't been substantial benefits after the Cancun upgrade. How did Ether drop like a dog in the past six months? Is there still hope to reach $10,000? Is the Prague upgrade promising? (Part 1) But when summarizing, I mentioned that Ethereum's current situation is indeed not good, but it is not hopeless either. Those who think Ethereum will go to zero should stop fantasizing; BCH is not very useful, but did it go to zero?
A reasonable question might be:
First, will Ethereum fall into mediocrity, becoming a chain on the same level as FTX and AVAX, losing its prominence to SOLANA?
Secondly, is Ethereum's POS path and sharding layered path wrong? Should it return to POW?
As for the second question, it can be answered immediately: we should not return to POW, because the so-called decentralization is not strong enough and is not the main pain point of Ethereum right now.
If Ethereum goes back to POW, it would be like a bipedal person, in order to prevent cervical disease, learning to walk on all fours like an animal—this is degeneration.
The path of digital gold already belongs to Bitcoin. To carve out its own path, Ethereum must build the best infrastructure for all DApps in the crypto world. Currently, it seems that Solana is not the ultimate answer, as single-chain performance has its limits and security risks. BTC is even less so; Ethereum is theoretically the most feasible.
The key is to turn concepts into applications that can explode in reality. Besides the need for the crypto space itself to attract new traffic, when new users come, we must also prepare the necessary infrastructure so that 'guests' can experience the abundance of products in the Ethereum supermarket, where everything is pleasant to hear, checkout is convenient, and operations are smooth, without the hassle of capital diversion.
If this cannot be achieved, Ethereum may not sink to the level of FTX, but it is also difficult to determine a significant leading position over SOLANA.
Next, let's address the first question: How can Ethereum avoid becoming mediocre?
3. What are some of the good things about Ethereum that we take for granted?
Before asserting that upgrades will allow Ethereum to continually surpass itself and avoid becoming 'mediocre,' let’s look at the advantages Ethereum currently has.
Ethereum has become the 'pillar' of the blockchain world, but we also need to view its current situation objectively. Everyone seems to be accustomed to having astonishing expectations of it every so often, as if it were a superhero out to save the world, which is a bit harsh. It's important to realize that Ethereum's robustness is already a huge advantage.
First, let’s talk about Ethereum's most hardcore advantages—decentralization and security. This is precisely why financial giants like BlackRock and JPMorgan are willing to conduct blockchain settlement and asset tokenization on Ethereum.
Think about it, these companies have zero tolerance for 'downtime' or security issues. Solana has experienced several downtimes recently and is not even in the same league. Ethereum, with its stable performance, gives these giant companies the confidence to use it for financial transactions. It's like choosing a bank; you definitely wouldn't choose one that frequently closes its doors.
Let’s talk about the participation of regular users. In the past, staking ETH seemed like an expert's task, requiring technical equipment and dealing with a bunch of complicated programs. Now it's different; you can stake ETH at home using ordinary consumer-grade hardware. It's like opening a VIP passage for everyone to participate in the Ethereum ecosystem, making the network increasingly decentralized and allowing the user base to grow.
The gas fee issue also needs to be mentioned. Since March, ETH's gas fees have remained low, staying below 20 gwei, saving money while keeping currency inflation low, allowing Ethereum's inflation rate to stay below 1%, which is much better than the recent VC coins that often have monthly inflations of several percent.
It's important to know that low gas fees do more than just make transactions cheaper; they signify the gradual maturity of the DeFi ecosystem. Ethereum is the leader in the DeFi space, with the highest total locked value (TVL) and trading volume. It’s like shopping in a supermarket where not only the shelves are full, but also the discounts are fantastic, naturally attracting more people to 'shop,' which in turn increases the scarcity of ETH.
Also, don't overlook the power of network effects. As the earliest general-purpose blockchain platform, Ethereum has accumulated a large number of developers, and the ecosystem is very vast, resembling a bustling 'innovation hub.' It's like a big city where resources and talent are concentrated, leading more startups and projects to choose to settle here. Layer 2 chains and DApps on Ethereum are springing up like mushrooms after rain, creating an increasingly complex and intricate ecosystem, just waiting for a key moment of massive user influx.
Let’s also discuss the tokenization of real-world assets (RWA). Did you know that 52% of stablecoins and 73% of U.S. Treasury bonds have already been tokenized on Ethereum? This proves that Ethereum is not only a star in the crypto world but also has great potential in traditional finance. Ethereum has become a bridge, while other chains lack this privilege.
Lastly, the ETH ETF has been launched! For those investors who are not very familiar with crypto technology, they can easily access Ethereum through an ETF. It's like giving investors an 'Ethereum ticket'; even if you don't understand blockchain, you can still partake by buying the ETF. This has attracted a large number of traditional investors into this ecosystem. Although in the short term, its price impact is not as strong as Bitcoin due to a lack of short-term liquidity, where investors tend to split their dollars and spend a large portion on Bitcoin, the ETF is a long-term benefit for Ethereum's future development.
In summary, while Ethereum doesn't always make people go 'wow', its robustness, security, and future potential have already made it a 'stable output player' in the blockchain world.
