Why Ethereum Will Remain the Top Smart Contracts Platform in 2024, According to Coinbase
According to a new report by Coinbase called “2024 Crypto Market Outlook,” although Solana has seen significant investment throughout 2023, Ethereum will continue to be the leading smart contracts platform in 2024. Coinbase highlights that net fund inflows to Solana-related investment funds were second only to Bitcoin in 2023, surpassing Ethereum and other multi-asset funds flows.
“Indeed, we believe that improved transaction throughput and lower fees are necessary to improve UX to onboard a series of new use cases, and Solana has an early lead in that regard.”
– Coinbase
Coinbase acknowledges the surge in Solana investment due to its ability to handle high transaction volumes and low fees, which are crucial for supporting highly performant applications. However, despite Solana’s growing popularity, Ethereum remains the most important smart contract platform. With an average of around 1 million transactions per day and a consistent daily transfer volume between $1 billion and $3 billion, Ethereum’s position as the top platform for decentralized applications is unlikely to be displaced soon.
While Ethereum’s dominance is expected to persist, Coinbase recognizes that Solana’s scalability and performance could make it a viable alternative for certain use cases in 2024. The report also mentions other layer-1 networks like Aptos, Sui, Sei, and others that may increase competition in the space by addressing scalability demands at the base layer.
Hot Take: Ethereum’s Continued Dominance with Potential Challenges from Solana
According to Coinbase’s report, Ethereum is poised to maintain its status as the top smart contracts platform in 2024. Its robust transaction throughput and established position in the market make it difficult to displace. However, Solana’s impressive scalability and performance capabilities could pose a challenge to Ethereum for specific use cases. As the cryptocurrency landscape evolves, it will be interesting to see how these two platforms compete and adapt to meet the growing demands of the industry.