For years, Ethereum has established itself as the second-best competitor to Bitcoin regarding technology, innovation, and use cases. If many consider Bitcoin as ‘digital gold,’ Ethereum would be ‘digital silver.’ However, just like Bitcoin, Ethereum has been the subject of many criticisms and attacks, and many have claimed that its popularity will end. The latest is Justin Bon’s post on Twitter/X, which says that Ethereum “is cooked.”
Cyber Capital’s founder and CIO, Justin Bons, has ignited lively debates on social media with his views on Ethereum’s future, the role of Layer 2 venture funding, and token dynamics. His outspoken critiques on issues like self-interest and centralization have sparked questions about Ethereum’s long-term reputation.
Bons’ take on Ethereum on Twitter/X was met with dozens of comments from crypto enthusiasts, some supporting his side and others challenging his take.
1/9) Ethereum is cooked
Corrupted by L2 VC funding & tokens, nobody is scaling ETH’s L1 anymore; they will not allow it!
That is why there is no hope left for ETH anymore
Following the bitcoiners into irrelevance with quasi-religious word salads justifying their mediocrity: 🧵
— Justin Bons (@Justin_Bons) October 28, 2024
Ethereum Is Now ‘Irrelevant,’ Claims Bons
In a Twitter/X thread, Bons offers several reasons why the Ethereum blockchain is “cooked” and going down the path of irrelevance. He stated that the primary reason for its downfall is self-interest, which prioritizes the development of Layer 2 (L2) chains instead of scaling its base layer (L1).
Bons further shared that Ethereum started as a beautiful blockchain, but recent developments may push it to oblivion. He specifically highlighted the chain’s L2s, which he said can censor, steal, and freeze users’ funds. According to Bons, these L2s are fragmented and centralized, which impacts the users’ experience, making the Solana blockchain a better option.
Ether market cap currently at $314 billion. Chart: TradingView.com
Uniswap Moving To Unichain
Ethereum is also facing another crucial problem, with Uniswap, as it migrates to its own blockchain, the “Unichain.” Last October 10th, UniSwap Labs, UniSwap’s parent company, announced that it will launch its blockchain. This newest blockchain or rollup is built on the Ethereum blockchain and intends to share its revenues with users who stake their UNI tokens.
Ether price down in the last week. Source: CoinGecko
Ethereum is expected to lose a substantial revenue stream with this new arrangement. Traditionally, the bulk of Uniswap’s revenues from fees are collected by ETH holders. According to Michael Nadeau, Uniswap earned around $1.3 billion from settlement and trading fees across five blockchains.
However, Uniswap and its token holders earned “zero” from this revenue. Instead, Ethereum validators were paid over $368 million for posting ETH to secure the blockchain. With the launch of Unichain, Uniswap will capture this value and filter it to its token holders.
If you think L2s are bearish for $ETH, then you should at least recognize that they are mega bearish for alt L1s.
At least L2s will have to pay for blobs once targets are reached, and they are all using $ETH as their primary onchain currency.
L2s are also the fastest growing…
— AdrianoFeria.eth 🦇🔊 🛡️ (@AdrianoFeria) October 28, 2024
Ethereum Gets Community Support
Bons’ tirades may have attracted a few supporters, but many users on Twitter/X defended the Ethereum blockchain. For example, AdrianoFeria.eth hit Bons for living in a different universe. He defended the Ethereum blockchain, arguing that L2 chains can’t be bearish on ETH L1 but should be for all L1s.
He added that Solana isn’t the fastest-growing chain and continued that Ethereum is still thriving thanks to institutional partnerships. Others commented that Bons is biased and will always take a hostile approach to crypto.
Some insiders say that Uniswap’s announcement makes predicting what will happen next tricky. According to Sasha Ivanov of Waves, the migration will not be completed by at least year-end. If it happens, the effect depends on whether Uniswap will bridge to the Ethereum blockchain or other smart contract-ready chains.
Featured image from Token Metrics, chart from TradingView
