Placeholder partner Ethereum is like Android compared to Solana, just like Android compared to iOS.

Ethereum is to Solana what Android is to iOS.

This is a game of choices, not a game of winning or losing.

Author: Joel Monegro, Partner at Placeholder

Translation: Luffy, Foresight News

Ethereum is to Solana what Android is to iOS.

• Wintermute discusses employee attrition to TradFi Now the crypto industry also has advocates in the mainstream financial world
• Feasibility Study of Bitcoin Layer 2 Network (Part 2) Ordinals vs Taro
• Solana RWA Market Landscape and Future Opportunities

Android emphasizes modularity: it can run on a variety of devices manufactured by hundreds of global manufacturers; devices produced by Google only account for 1-2% of them. This makes Android the most popular mobile operating system in the world, occupying about 60-75% of the market share. The flexibility of Android is a blessing for hardware companies that produce smartphones, televisions, and other products, as they can bring new products to market without investing billions of dollars to build an operating system. However, this diversity also makes it more difficult for developers to create applications that can seamlessly run on devices with different specifications, screen sizes, and various versions of Android.

In contrast, all iOS devices are produced by Apple, so it can provide users and developers with a more integrated and consistent experience. Without the need to optimize across different devices, the time saved can be used to provide better applications that users are willing to pay extra for. Therefore, it is not uncommon for companies to first release applications on iOS. Although Apple only occupies about one-third of the market share, it performs better in capturing ecosystem value, accounting for about 60% of all mobile spending (including all hardware revenue).

This is not an original analogy, but it is a useful one. Ethereum is similar to Android in that it is quickly becoming a platform for third-party networks, rather than the destination for most end users and developers. The Ethereum mainnet is used to ensure security, and the L2 networks that leverage EVM as the operating system are growing rapidly, handling about 5-6 times the transaction volume of the Ethereum mainnet, and this number is expected to quickly expand to 100 times or more. These third-party networks are like different Android OEMs: many offer directly competitive services with little difference, while others focus on specific markets or use cases. As more tools make it easier to launch L2, we can foresee Ethereum’s “scope of influence” expanding, covering hundreds of networks and processing transactions far exceeding the Ethereum mainnet.

EVM is expected to continue to be the most popular blockchain operating system, running on thousands of different networks and rollups across markets, domains, and use cases. Even if the mainnet only accounts for a fraction of its total value, Ethereum will benefit greatly from this expanding ecosystem. However, this diversity brings many challenges similar to Google Android. For example, different EVM networks can run slightly different versions of the operating system, so Ethereum smart contracts cannot guarantee seamless operation on all these networks by default. Developers must spend extra time adjusting, testing, and maintaining for different environments. For ordinary users, the user experience of Ethereum may also become fragmented: an application on one network may not be usable on another network, and wallets cannot simultaneously support all networks. Switching between them may cause confusion or even danger for ordinary users. Over time, these user experience issues will gradually improve, just like how Android becomes smoother and more secure as it develops. Nevertheless, developers still face the burden of investing more time to solve these problems.

On the other hand, Solana, like iOS, tightly integrates components in the name of throughput and performance. In addition, Solana adopts different consensus mechanisms and design principles. Ultimately, it is faster and cheaper than Ethereum and many other EVM networks as a single, unified network. Developers can focus on providing better applications for a single high-performance platform without worrying about transaction speed, gas cost optimization, cross-chain deployment, and users don’t have to worry too much about slow transactions, switching between networks, or inconsistent cross-chain and wallet support.

Of course, this is a superficial analogy and many details are not covered. But it is important to understand that this is a game of choices, not winners and losers. It doesn’t matter who is objectively “better”; what matters is that this debate will never end. Some people value the flexibility of modular concepts, while others value the speed and simplicity of more integrated platforms. What is important is that there are options and you can choose the one that suits you best. The success of the industry requires competitive platforms with different trade-offs to maximize developers’ and users’ choices. Today, Ethereum and Solana embody this spirit and become the two most promising smart contract networks in the market.

Understanding where we are in the financial and technological cycle is crucial for investors. The bear market is the best time to investigate the market and become new winners during major consolidation periods. Maximalism will make you only support Ethereum, Bitcoin, or any network they like, and abandon everything else, but this is more emotional than logical. In fact, there was a time when Bitcoin was the only legitimate digital asset; there was also a time when, despite the emergence of alternatives, Ethereum (like IBM in its heyday) was the only real game.

We will continue to update Blocking; if you have any questions or suggestions, please contact us!