Ethereum’s Future Through The Crystal Ball

Written by Jay Jackson - Reviewed by Coin Review Team

Published: Mar 13, 2019 | Last Updated: Mar 13, 2019

Ethereum’s future looks bleak with the worrying challenges plaguing it. To the naysayers, there is no hope for Ethereum. To the proponents better days are yet to come for Ethereum. With advanced upgrades in the making, Ethereum’s future seems promising.

2025-01-22T15:43:29+00:00

Ethereum blockchain future has a big “Question Mark”. Yulianto Images

If you have been around the block for a while, you already know that the Ethereum blockchain used to be one of the most popular platforms in the crypto sphere. However, technology has evolved with time, and things may not be rosy as they used to be for Ethereum. Here are three reasons why some people believe Ethereum’s best days are already over:

Table of Contents:

Poor speed of transactions

Scalability has been the elephant in the room for Ethereum. There have been concerns that it experiences network problems^[1] that cause delays in its transactions. Other platforms such as EOS and Tron that can support massive numbers of users as well as faster transactions have emerged. That said, why would users stick to a platform with slow scalability when there are several alternatives that can offer high speed of transactions?

Can’t support offline transactions

The other big claim thrown at Ethereum is that it can’t support offline transactions. Since it’s an online supported platform, users need access to internet to use it. This raises the second question: if other alternatives^[2] can run offline why would someone consider an online mode supported platform.

Stiff competition

Thirdly, the competition is getting stiffer by the day. New entrants into the market such EOS are now leveraging on advanced technologies as well as learning from the existing flaws in the market to enhance user experience. This is evident through their products which are better in terms of performance, cost, and security. Already several decentralized applications have shifted from Ethereum to EOS^[3]. These include EOSBet, followed by Medipedia, Billionaire token, Insights Network, Wax among many others.

The die is cast.

With such a pretty hard time for Ethereum, does it still have a future? Will it scale? What does that future look like for Ethereum? Let’s dig in.

Why Ethereum’s Future is Almost Guaranteed?

If there is one room that is never full, it is the room for improvement. Ethereum might be facing some challenges that seem to predict its downfall, but the blockchain platform knows its woes. It has been working on improving on its shortcomings.

What Ethereum faces is not actually problems warranting distress since the network hasn’t been around for that long. It is still a work in progress with so much to offer. Already it has an upgrade road map that was put in place in 2018, scaling up to 2025 to tackle its deficiencies.

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As they execute these upgrades, blockchain enthusiasts should anticipate a bright future for Ethereum.

Some of the upgrades started in 2018;

December 21st, 2018, the Raiden’s Red Eye^[4] was launched on the Ethereum’s mainnet. The Red Eye protocol helps in reducing the completion of transactions time through off-chain payment channel technology.

Some of Red Eye’s innovative features include;

Gas efficient contracts
Recoverability of an irregularly shutdown Raiden node
Opening, topping up, closing and settling of payment channel

Once in full operation, Raiden is expected to enable one million transactions per second in the Ethereum blockchain network. This will also reduce the cost of completion of transactions on the platform, making it cheaper than ever before.

Below is an image of the Raiden network

Raiden network features. BlockExplorer Images

2019 Ethereum Upgrades Include;

The Constantinople hard fork

The upgrades implemented with Constantinople^[5] are expected to ease the burden of scalability for the Ethereum team and projects building on top of the Ethereum network.

The Constantinople update will require members of the community to choose between running the old network and switching to the new one.

The Plasma Protocol

The Plasma Protocol^[6] is a blockchain within a blockchain that exponentially increases scalability. Think of it as a main blockchain with several branches (which are the plasma blockchains). The main chain is the ground truth. Because of this it only comes into play to settle a dispute in the plasma chain.

Plasma sidechains have increased security and easier accessibility than ordinary sidechains. For example, the main chain ensures the security of funds even if a plasma sidechain breaks. Also, users, at any time, can withdraw funds from a plasma sidechain to the main chain with balances from the last valid block.

Besides Plasma, there is also the Plasma Cash that is pegged to be more efficient than the Plasma. However, as of the beginning of 2019, it was still in its research phase.

Plasma Protocol that works to improve scalability. Omisego Images

The Casper protocol

This is Ethereum’s Proof of Stake consensus algorithm, which is more scalable than Proof of Work. Proof of Work system besides being too expensive is also not environmentally friendly.

To find out insider news, before-the-public, I advise you to bookmark www.blockchainwhispers.com

By Ethereum switching to Casper, staking becomes the new way of validating transactions. It is not only cheaper compared to Proof of Work, but also environmentally friendly.

Beyond 2019 some of Ethereum’s upgrades include;

Sharding

Sharding^[7] securely partitions the network into shards, which can process information in parallel. Each node will then process its own transactions rather than entire transactions on the blockchain. This will allow for more transactions on the blockchain. It will also reduce the transactional costs on the network allowing developers to create more sophisticated dApps. As a result, it will help Ethereum solve its scalability and latency issues.

Once upgrades like the Casper and sharding are implemented into the Ethereum blockchain, the Ethereum 2.0 will be up and running. It is expected between 2019 and 2020. It is also known as Serenity. Ethereum 2.0 is expected to better its predecessor Ethereum 1.0 that is currently in existence.

After the Ethereum 2.0, there is the Ethereum 3.0 that is in the kitchen. It is still in its research stages and will be implemented between 2022 and 2025.

Final word

All said and done, stiff competition seems to be displacing Ethereum as a top dog in the crypto space, but that does not guarantee its demise. From its upgrade road map, it’s evident that Ethereum is already working on its shortcomings. If Ethereum developers do indeed deliver on these upgrades, then Ethereum might just be a force to reckon with in the crypto space as it has usually been.

Nonetheless, for the doubting Thomas, they have to see it, to believe it, but for the believers, the signs are already out there that Ethereum is here to stay. What say you?

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References

[1] https://zycrypto.com/proposed-ethereum-soft-fork-to-scale-network-100x-better/
[2] https://coinnounce.com/ethereum-vs-eos/
[3] https://medium.com/@liquideos/the-great-dapp-exodus-projects-moving-to-eos-blockchain-420fde5cf0d1
[4] https://medium.com/raiden-network/red-eyes-mainnet-release-announcement-d48235bbef3c
[5] https://www.coindesk.com/take-two-ethereum-is-getting-ready-for-the-constantinople-hard-fork-redo
[6] https://blockgeeks.com/guides/what-is-omisego-the-plasma-protocol/
[7] https://blockgeeks.com/guides/what-are-ethereum-nodes-and-sharding/

Disclaimer

The writer’s views are expressed as a personal opinion and are for information purposes only. It is not intended to be investment advice. Seek a duly licensed professional for investment advice.