The Current Status and Future of Ethereum: Decentralization, Scalability, and Market Competition

Recently, two senior figures in the Ethereum ecosystem discussed in depth the development history, technical roadmap, and future prospects of Ethereum.

The discussion first reviewed the experiences of both parties entering the blockchain industry. One started with Bitcoin mining, then shifted to building the EOS ecosystem, and ultimately returned to Ethereum; the other fully devoted himself to Ethereum during the ICO boom in 2017. Both agreed that the DeFi Summer of 2020 was a milestone for Ethereum's true impact on the traditional world.

Regarding the core value of Ethereum, both parties emphasized its advantages of Decentralization. The Ethereum Foundation spares no expense in promoting Decentralization, which is distinctly different from other public chains. For application scenarios that require high levels of Decentralization, self-custody, and resistance to regulation, Ethereum is the best choice.

The success of EVM is also a focal point of discussion. Although there were shortcomings in the early design, the EVM has been continuously optimized and has become the industry standard. Its success lies in the accumulation of time and the deposition of funds, providing a reliable execution environment for smart contracts.

In terms of scalability, Ethereum is facing market pressure. After the implementation of EIP-1559, Ethereum entered a deflationary phase, but in order to cope with competition, it has to continue scaling Layer 1 and subsidizing Layer 2. This reflects Ethereum's pragmatic choices under market competition.

Regarding the future of Layer 2, both parties discussed new directions such as Based Rollup/Native Rollup. These solutions aim to better align with the Ethereum mainnet, enhancing security and user experience. However, the independence of Layer 2 has also sparked reflection on future development paths.

In terms of application prospects, stablecoins, social networks, and real-world assets ( RWA ) are considered potential growth points. In particular, the combination of RWA with the cryptocurrency world may bring new financial products and application scenarios.

Finally, both parties discussed the upgrade decision-making mechanism of Ethereum. Although the current process is relatively transparent, there is still room for improvement in community participation. Some believe that Ethereum needs a CMO role to focus on user growth and ecosystem development to cope with the increasingly fierce market competition.

Overall, despite facing challenges, Ethereum continues to uphold its decentralization philosophy and strives to maintain its leading position in the blockchain field through technological innovation and ecosystem development.