Ethereum

Bitcoin still remains the top crypto project in the space. But it no secret that Ethereum has been quickly catching up with the pioneer cryptocurrency. Ethereum’s decentralized finance (DeFi) use cases have been the major contributor behind this space as investors have flocked to the blockchain to earning returns on their crypto holdings. This has given rise to popular Layer 2 solutions like Polygon.

Recently, co-founder and COO of Polygon Sandeep Nailwal was on Cointelegraph to talk about the future of the leading smart contracts blockchain. Ethereum is the number 2 layer 1 blockchain, only behind bitcoin. And Nailwal believes that it is only a matter of time before the blockchain takes over as the leading Layer 1 protocol. He credits this to a number of reasons and differences between the two blockchains.

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The DeFi Space Is Booming

During an exclusive interview with Cointelegraph, the COO outlines the reasons why Ethereum was set to take over from bitcoin as the leading layer 1 protocol. Nailwal cited the growth of the DeFi space as a major push for this takeover. This is because the majority of the decentralized finance activities were carried out on Ethereum, which made it “the ultimate settlement layer.”

Its popularity has pushed ETH to become even more valuable as a blockchain which puts it directly in a position to overtake the top cryptocurrency. “Sooner or later, ETH will outpace Bitcoin and become the global standard,” the COO said. Nailwal pointed out that Polygon will play a major role in the long-term success of the blockchain with the scalability solutions which it provides.

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More than just beating out Bitcoin for the top spot, the co-founder expressed that the blockchain may in fact not exist 10 years from now. This is because of the limited use cases and the COO believes that if bitcoin is to survive in the future, then it needs to provide more functions than being a means of exchange and investment.

Ethereum Filtering Out The Noise

With time, a number of projects have come out of the woodwork to compete with Ethereum for the DeFi attention it is getting. Referred to as “ETH killers,” these blockchains have risen up to take market share from the leading DeFi platform. Solana has been at the forefront of this competitive movement and has grown tremendously as it went up against Ethereum.

ETH price rebounds above $3,200 | Source: ETHUSD on TradingView.com

Despite the growing popularity of other Layer 1 solutions, the co-founder of Polygon does not believe that there is any blockchain that can take over Ethereum. The layer 1 solution has maintained a majority share of the market despite the rise of its competitors.

Ethereum will most likely maintain the top spot in the market for the foreseeable future. And with proof of stake scheduled to come to the blockchain next year, ETH is set to dominate both the DeFi and crypto space.

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