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Author: Kazu Umemoto Source: Bankless Translation: Shan Oppa, Bitchain Vision
In 2024, the Ethereum and Solana communities have opened new paths in the crypto space.
In many ways, Bitcoin’s value story was passed on to the world in 2024 – Bitcoin broke through $100,000, ushering in an epic strong rebound.However, the focus of the crypto industry in 2024 is far more than Bitcoin.The Ethereum and Solana communities have achieved great success this year.
Although there is still a lot of infighting between the two top smart contract platforms at some points in time, 2024 has truly demonstrated the unique advantages of their respective communities.These advantages not only attract more people to focus on the crypto space, but also pave the way for 2025’s glory.
Today, we will explore in-depth the important moments of Ethereum and Solana to drive the industry in 2024, and the three key trends in these two ecosystems.
Three major trends in Ethereum
1. Ethereum developers fight for the future of the crypto industry
In 2024, Ethereum developers will bravely fight and strive for the future of encryption and DeFi.Faced with radical regulators, the Ethereum community took the lead in launching tough remarks and targeted lawsuits in an attempt to counter the long-term suppression of crypto companies.
Institutions such as Uniswap, Consensys and Coinbase took the initiative to attack, and the early Ethereum KOLs stood up to maintain the core values of the crypto industry, challenged Gary Gensler (Chenzhen of the US SEC), and funded political leaders who supported cryptocurrencies, striving to reshape the political landscape.
In 2024, crypto giants won key battles and accumulated important political capital to ensure that the values of the crypto industry are no longer easily trampled on.
2. Stablecoin growth highlights the value of cryptocurrencies
In 2024, stablecoins have made significant progress in the Ethereum ecosystem.Ethena launches USDe stablecoin, minted nearly one year$6 billion.USDC supply almost doubled, USDT supply has also increased by more than50%.
This growth suggests that stablecoins are gradually being seen as reliable financial instruments and a way to store value.Institutions such as BlackRock have entered the stablecoin field, and its BUIDL fund supports Ethena’s USDtb stablecoin.With BlackRock joining, more companies may explore stablecoins inReduce daily transaction costsPotential.
3. Ethereum launches “responsible expansion” expansion
Due to the poor performance of ETH prices, the community began to analyze the advantages and disadvantages of Ethereum in depth.The community held heated discussions on the expansion roadmap, both criticizing and defending.
At Bankless, we held several discussions on expansion:
•Max ResnickShared the dilemma of expansion,
•Justin DrakeIt shows the development direction of Beam Chain that is consistent with the roadmap.
But this year is not limited to discussion – Dencun hard forks are introducedBlob TransactionsReducing L2 transaction costs, Blob allows L2 to store large amounts of data at low cost on the Ethereum main network, making transaction fees cheaper and attracting more users.
Three major trends in Solana
1.Memecoin craze attracts a large number of users
In 2024, the memecoin boom attracted millions of users to the Solana chain, and many hoped to get a share of the next 1000x coin.Pump.funBecome a key player in the memecoin madness, released more than 20245 million tokens, accounting for Solana DEX trading volume50%.Solana DEX has a total transaction volume of up to 100%$990 billion, memecoin has made great contributions.
Of course, memecoin is not always full of halo: project collapses, insider trading, and celebrity cutting leeks are common. Pump.fun’s briefly launched live broadcast function also exposed the problem of user misconduct.
despite this,Pump.funStill one of Solana’s flagship projects.If the memecoin craze continues in 2025, Solana is expected to attract more users than in 2024.
2. Developers flock to the Solana ecosystem
In 2024, Solana not only attracted new users, but also a large number of new developers willing to join Solana.according toElectric Capital Developer Report 2024,Solana ranks second in the global developer share, second only to Ethereum.Although the total number of Ethereum developers still dominates, Solana has 1,000 more new developers this year than Ethereum, which is far ahead in attracting developers.This shows that new waves of innovation may emerge in the Solana ecosystem, bringing more vitality to 2025.
3. Institutional interest is rising
SOL prices have soared more than1700%, this growth, coupled with the launch of Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs, has triggered market confrontationSolana ETFguess.
GrayscaleAn application has been submitted to convert its Solana Trust into a spot ETF.Considering that Grayscale has successfully converted Bitcoin and Ethereum Trusts to ETFs this year,Solana ETF is just a matter of time.If the Solana ETF is approved, it will provide convenient investment channels for large institutions and retail investors, changing Solana’s image as only a “memecoin chain” in the crypto industry, becomingAn ecosystem trusted by millions of users.
Looking forward to 2025: New Year’s new narrative
In 2024, the crypto industry ushered in a new narrative.
During this year, Ethereum and Solana have shown their own unique development trends, which not only strengthened their own market positioning, but also jointly promoted the grand narrative of “cryptocurrency subverts traditional finance (TradFi).
With the help of the memecoin craze, Solana has stabilized its position in the minds of retail users and attracted a large number of users who have been exposed to cryptocurrencies for the first time.Ethereum continues to be firmly on the backbone of DeFi (decentralized finance), emphasizing stability and institutional adoption rates, and actively defends the core values of decentralization within the industry and on the political stage.
Looking ahead to 2025, as anti-cryptocurrency forces in the US political arena gradually lose their power and supervision is gradually becoming clearer, the cryptocurrency field is expected to usher in explosive growth.The value of Bitcoin as “digital gold” has been accepted by investors around the world.The opportunity for Ethereum and Solana is coming, and it is the critical moment for them to show the world “how Internet currencies can really drive the global economy.”
