ether (CCC:ETH-USD) is the second largest digital asset with a market capitalization of over $ 240 billion. It has generated a return of 650% over the past 12 months, comfortably outperforming Bitcoin at around 240%. However, the popularity of decentralized funding (DeFi) and non-fungible tokens (NFTs) is leading to fierce competition for Ethereum. This pushes several Ethereum competitors into the spotlight, offering greater utility and minimizing the disadvantages associated with Ethereum.
Several analysts believe Ethereum has the most compelling bull case in the crypto industry, with several growth catalysts on the horizon. Perhaps the biggest is the transition from its proof-of-work model to a proof-of-stake model called Ethereum 2.0.
Ethereum is by no means a perfect platform. Its critics have been hounded for its high power consumption, high transaction costs, scalability issues, and slow transaction speeds. As a result, a number of altcoins have come out to address these issues and provide greater long-term benefits to their users. Let’s look at three of the best Ethereum competitors out there today.
Best Ethereum Competitor: Cardano (ADA-USD)
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Cardano is one of the hottest altcoins out there today. The ADA token has grown an incredible 840% over the past 12 months. The “Green Coin” was developed in 2017 by its founder Charles Hoskinson as an energy-efficient alternative to Ethereum. The developers have set a long roadmap for future progress that will culminate in 2025. However, there are plenty of reasons to be optimistic about Cardano at this point as it moves to an even more robust platform.
Cardano operates a proof-of-stake system. Validators with a participation in the platform facilitate the transaction process. This saves a lot of energy costs compared to the usual proof-of-work model. In addition, it can process up to 257 transactions in a second and is targeting a million in the future.
A key feature of Cardano is its smart contract functionality, which enables developers to create apps that interact with various decentralized exchanges.
With the full publication of its smart contract update planned for later in the year, it will grow massively by the end of 2021.
Polkadot (DOT)
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Polkadot is often referred to as the “platform of platforms”. Some call it the “Ethereum Killer” as it aims to overcome the disadvantages of the platform and become a more efficient ecosystem. While calling it the Ethereum killer is a huge task, it has done extraordinarily well in cementing its place in the crypto world. At over $ 12.5 billion, the DOT token is the ninth most valuable cryptocurrency.
The Polkadot ecosystem comprises a chain of relays that essentially keep the entire network secure. It then uses side chains called parachains to increase the capacity of the network. Polkadot effectively streamlines crypto mining processes and enables the creation of decentralized apps and smart contracts.
It has become extremely popular as a connecting crypto blockchain and DeFi platform.
Best Ethereum Competitors: Stellar Lumens (XLM)
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Stellar Lumens is one of the most talked about DeFi projects in the crypto industry. It is also a bridge currency that gives liquidity to trusted entities on the network. The platform has a market cap of over $ 6 billion and has grown by over 200% over the past 12 months.
The ultimate goal of the platform is to work alongside the traditional banking system. It is already working with the Ukrainian government to help them develop a national digital currency.
The Stellar Development Fund (SDF) continues to invest heavily in various projects to expand the growth of the Stellar Blockchain. For example, it invested a whopping $ 750,000 in a Nigerian fintech company called Cowrie shell in building a platform for cross-border payments for the domestic population.
With its unique application in the DeFi area, XLM has an incredible growth path ahead of it.
At the time of this writing, Muslim Farooque held (neither directly nor indirectly) positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and are subject to InvestorPlace.com’s posting guidelines.
Muslim Farooque is an avid investor and an optimist at heart. As a lifelong gamer and tech enthusiast, he has a particular affinity for analyzing technology stocks. Muslim holds a BS in Applied Accounting from Oxford Brookes University.
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