Without addressing its scaling bottlenecks, Ethereum risks falling behind. While Ethereum’s layer-2 (L2) rollups have alleviated network congestion, they ultimately serve as stopgap measures that provide temporary relief. Software-first approaches are experiencing teething issues in interoperability and scalability, raising questions about Ethereum’s long-term sustainability and relevance.
Many L2s are designed to fit the native network and cannot support real-time applications such as decentralized gaming or cross-border payments. Ethereum needs a fundamental shift if it wants to maintain its leadership in the blockchain space. The solution lies not in incremental software updates but in hardware acceleration.