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Ethereum vs Solana

The crypto industry needs a standardised framework for comparing blockchains to stop the bullshit and get on with shipping valuable solutions.

Fundamentals​

What makes an L2 an L2?

Architecture​

Innovation through open exploration versus innovation through focused intention and application of best practices.

How important is architecture to long-term value creation and capture?

Consolidation of knowledge gained via open experimentation at the edges vs progress through focused intention and implementation of best practices.

Consensus Mechanism​

  • Ethereum: Initially used Proof of Work (PoW), but with the Ethereum 2.0 upgrade, it has transitioned to Proof of Stake (PoS), which is more energy-efficient.
  • Solana: Uses Proof of History (PoH) in conjunction with PoS. PoH helps to create a historical record that proves that an event has occurred at a specific moment in time.

Security and Decentralization​

  • Ethereum: Generally considered more secure and decentralized, partly due to its longer existence and larger node network.
  • Solana: Has experienced occasional network performance issues and outages, raising concerns about its decentralization and reliability.

Transaction Speed and Throughput​

  • Ethereum: Known for congestion and higher transaction fees, especially during peak usage. However, Ethereum 2.0 aims to improve scalability and transaction speed.
  • Solana: Offers higher throughput and faster transaction speeds. It can handle around 50,000-65,000 transactions per second (TPS), compared to Ethereum's 30 TPS (pre-2.0 upgrade).

Application Development​

  • Ethereum: Has a well-established environment for smart contracts and decentralized applications (DApps), using Solidity as the primary programming language.
  • Solana: Also supports smart contracts and DApps. It offers lower transaction costs, which is an advantage for developers and users.

Developer Experience​

As a platform engineer, how do you decide between Ethereum and Solana?

  • Ethereum:
  • Solana:

Use Cases​

  • Ethereum: Has a wide range of applications, including DeFi (Decentralized Finance), NFTs (Non-Fungible Tokens), gaming, and more. It's the most used blockchain for DApps.
  • Solana: Also supports similar applications but is often preferred for high-frequency trading and gaming due to its high throughput and low transaction costs.

Community and Ecosystem​

  • Ethereum: Has a large, active community and a more extensive ecosystem, with a vast number of developers contributing to its platform.
  • Solana: Although newer, has been rapidly growing its community and ecosystem, attracting both developers and users with its high performance and low fees.

Opinions​