Ethereum’s lead was even more formidable at least until recently. Now, rattled by frequent leadership transitions, cratering market performance, and increasing competition, the Agency is beset on all sides. Despite turbulence, Ethereum is the second most popular blockchain after Bitcoin. It is under siege to its dominance by the equally momentous internal restructuring and not-so-concealed technological limitations. Ethereum Foundation faces leadership shakeup. Ethereum Foundation is going through a significant leadership overhaul. This nonprofit organization, which steers the development of the Ethereum blockchain, is attracting new creative talent and professional expertise. Ethereum’s price has fallen almost 50% in the past year. This dramatic drop has left many to wonder where the policy might be headed next.
Leadership Shakeup at the Ethereum Foundation
Perhaps unsurprisingly, given the relative youth of their structure, the Ethereum Foundation is in the midst of a major leadership overhaul. Additional restructuring will improve the organization’s technical capacity and create a healthier, more diverse board of directors.
in the process of large changes to [Ethereum Foundation] leadership structure - Vitalik Buterin
Vitalik Buterin announced these changes in January, emphasizing the need to bring in fresh talent to guide Ethereum's future development. The Ethereum Foundation is responsible for allocating existing resources and continued support of foundational research and development. This serves to nurture developer talent across the Ethereum ecosystem.
The Ethereum Foundation’s leadership structure has been one of the biggest sources of debate and division in the community on Ethereum. The proposed uniform changes, which are still taking shape, would address these issues head on. They help ensure that the foundation remains effective in guiding Ethereum’s growth.
Market Performance and Competitive Pressures
Ethereum’s price is down big time, down almost 50% over the last year. This underperformance is even more glaring when considering the market leader Bitcoin, further compounding the pressure on Ethereum.
Ethereum has tested itself by forcing itself to compete against other blockchains even more, such as Solana. These alternative platforms with faster transaction speeds and lower fees have been luring developers and users away.
At the end of 2020, Ethereum accounted for 96% of the total value locked (TVL) in DeFi protocols, according to data from DeFiLlama. Over time, its market share has been eroded by competing blockchains.
Technical Challenges and Transaction Fees
Even as Ethereum commanded early dominance in the smart contract space, the blockchain performance has been under fire. Bitcoin processes a mere 5 to 7 tps and Ethereum only 15 to 20 tps. This speed is extremely slow compared to new innovation blockchains such as Solana or Tron.
Average gas fees (transaction fees) on Ethereum is now $0.39. These fees are highly variable based on network traffic.
Gas fees for Ethereum can be over ten times as much, sometimes above $10, like last year when gas prices skyrocketed. Such exorbitant fees are enough to push both users and developers away, especially in the case of smaller transactions.
