Charles Hoskinson, founder of Cardano and one of Ethereum’s early co-founders, has made a bold prediction: Ethereum may not survive the next 10 to 15 years. Speaking in an Ask Me Anything (AMA) session on April 23 on X, Hoskinson criticized Ethereum’s current direction, calling it fundamentally flawed in multiple areas. He argued that without significant changes, Ethereum could lose relevance in crypto space.
Ethereum’s Consensus Model and Protocol Choice Under Fire
Charles Hoskinson took issue with Ethereum’s consensus mechanism. The network transitioned from Proof-of-Work to Proof-of-Stake (PoS) in 2022 as part of a major upgrade called “The Merge.” While this reduced its energy consumption, Hoskinson believes the PoS model Ethereum uses is not sustainable for long-term success.
He suggested Ethereum’s choice of protocol limits its flexibility and may lead to security and centralization risks. In contrast, Hoskinson favors other models, such as Delegated Proof of Stake (DPoS), which he claims are more efficient and resilient.
Additionally, Ethereum has leaned heavily on layer 2 scaling solutions like Arbitrum, Optimism, and Base to improve transaction speed and reduce gas fees. These networks operate on top of Ethereum and aim to enhance scalability. However, Hoskinson described these layer 2s as parasitic rather than supportive.
He argued that instead of helping Ethereum grow, these networks rely on it while pulling away users and developers. According to him, this undermines Ethereum’s core network and makes it harder to sustain long-term innovation.
Off-Chain Governance Is a Risk
Another major criticism from Cardano’s founder was Ethereum’s off-chain governance. He explained that most of Ethereum’s decisions are made through informal discussions on social forums and by influential developers, rather than through an organized, transparent voting process on the blockchain itself.
This lack of on-chain governance, he said, leads to centralization and makes it difficult for the community to actively participate in important decisions. In his view, a strong blockchain should let users vote directly on protocol changes, something Cardano has already implemented.
Charles Hoskinson offered several suggestions to fix Ethereum’s structure. He proposed that Ethereum shift from its current PoS system to a DPoS model, like that used by the Sui network. He also recommended moving to on-chain governance to improve community participation.
However, he admitted that reducing Ethereum’s dependence on layer 2 networks would be extremely difficult. He described this shift as a “hostile divorce,” implying that the ecosystem is now too deeply reliant on these scaling solutions to easily part ways.
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Cardano, Solana, and Sui Positioned to Take Over Ethereum
Hoskinson used the opportunity to show Cardano’s progress. He stated that Cardano has already addressed the key issues Ethereum faces. With a solid consensus model, on-chain governance, and productive sidechains like Midnight, he said Cardano is better prepared for the future of blockchain.
He also named Solana and Sui as other networks that could slowly eat into Ethereum’s market share. According to him, as Bitcoin continues developing decentralized finance (DeFi) capabilities, Ethereum may lose even more users to competing platforms.
Recent price data supports some of Hoskinson’s criticisms. As of April 24, Ethereum had declined the most, falling 35.18%. Cardano came next, with a 15.97% decline. Solana followed closely, having dropped by 17.20%. In contrast, Sui had the smallest decline at just 4.35%.
