Probably, Solana (Sun) remains a trend during the current year. In the long term, Ether (ETH) could have more sustainable foundations. Ethereum and Solana networks face key challenges that will define their ability to consolidate in the market during the next year. The first thing to mention in the case of Ethereum, is that your community is disagreement of the Ethereum Foundation (EF)the entity that is responsible for promoting the development of the network. Complaints against the executive director, Aya Miyaguchi, are for the repeated sales of Ether (ETH) to face the current expenses, which generates a bearish pressure on the asset. In addition, It should be mentioned that ETH has had a lower performance in this upward cycle compared to Bitcoin (BTC) or Solana (Sol).
Comparison of the percentage movement of Ether prices (eth), blank and solana (sun) in red, since January 2023. Source: TrainingView. In the midst of these criticism, for some decisions of the EF, Fidelity, a digital asset management company, raises the following question: Was the road map centered on the rollups, the correct choice?
In this regard, the analyst of that firm, Max Wadington, argues: “From the Dencun update, a debate on this decision has emerged due to the drastic fall in the rates of layer 1 (L1). Despite this, our position presented last year is still firm. We believe that Blobs market revenues probably do not compensate for the decrease in income caused by the previous update in the short term, but still entails long -term positive benefits by improving network effects. ” As cryptootics has reported, Dencun is an update that brought significant improvements in the organization of data stored in the L1. In addition, it allows layers of layer 2 (L2) such as Polygon, Optimism or arbitr to spend less on commissions when they publish lots of transactions on the main network. In the long term, this mechanism can be considered A positive factor in the network effects, since it reduces costs and improves accessibility without completely compromising future cash flows in that environment. It will be necessary to see if this is enough to calm the internal tensions within the EF. Before the Dencun update, L2's networks used call-data, which is expensive, to publish transactions in Ethereum. With the implementation of the BLOBS, the Rollups can store transaction data in a cheaper way, which reduces their operational costs. To support your analysis, Wadington shares a graphic in which the evolution in the time of the amount of blobs (blue line) and the rates associated with them (green line) is observed. The rates show a slight rebound at the end, which reflects a greater adoption of the network. That is, for Fidelity, the increase in the adoption of L2 and Blobs demand could strengthen the usefulness of the network and, eventually, support the value of ETH.
Amount of blobs and rates in the L2 of Ethereum. Source: Fidelity. This analysis contrasts with that of Galaxy, an outstanding investment company, which ensures that A single thing will save Ethereum: a greater use of L1. Christine Kim, cryptocurrency market analyst, believes: “New users in the chain that buy assets called ETH and carry the commissions and income of L2 to the L1 of Ethereum will be whatever the network of their stagnation ”
What happens to Solana?
Fidelity also explores the competition that exists between Solana and Ethereum in 2025, and what are the factors and trends of the market that could influence the performance of each network. Wadington points out that Ethereum has A solid developed activity, a higher blocked total value (TVL) and a great offer of Stablcoins. However, he remarks that rates and solar tvl revenues are increasing at a faster rate than Ethereum. In this regard, he says:
«An important point to consider is that a large part of Solana's income comes from the memecoins trade, a cyclical trend that remains strong in bullish markets but that is significantly retracted in bearish markets. However, a similar argument could be made with respect to Ethereum, whose main case is Uniswap. While both ecosystems have similarities, we believe that Ethereum's foundations depend less on speculation and can be less volatile in the long term ». Max Wadington, Fidelity Market Analyst.
He also explains that the Firedance of Solana update could improve the value proposal of that network. As Cryptonoticias has reported, the Solana Foundation organization works to implement Firedancence, an update designed to increase the transaction capacity in that network. The goal is to reach 1 million transactions per second (TPS). It is an important improvement If you consider that the network currently processes an average of 4,500 tpsaccording to the Solana block explorer.
Solana processes more than 4,000 transactions per second. Source: Solana Block Explorer. Wadington points out that the Pectra update in Ethereum generates less enthusiasm among the community because «it does not significantly impact on the price of Ether» and clarifies: «Although the update improves fundamental characteristics that make Ethereum unique, such as its security design without equal, its Impact from the investment point of view is relatively lower. ” On the other hand, the analyst emphasizes the fact that the activity in the L1 of Ethereum has remained stable (blue line), even with the fall of rates (green line). This suggests that the network is still useful for users.
Transaction rates in Ethereum L1: Source: Fidelity.
Ethereum will win … over time
Solana probably continues in a trend during this year, driven by its growth and adoption in the ecosystem. However, in the long term, Ethereum has solid foundations to impose itself as the most sustainable option thanks to the improvements in its infrastructure, that will allow you to have a more efficient and resistant ecosystem of network congestion. In addition to the arguments mentioned above, the analyst also points out that another «clear advantage that Ether has on sun is its accessibility through products quoted in the stock market (ETP).» Although he explains:
«While this advantage is possible to disappear at some point, it is not clear yes or when it will happen. It is clear that a regulatory decision in any direction could reinforce this advantage for Ether or eliminate it completely, so it will be an important development to follow in 2025 ». Max Wadington, market analyst.
While it is true that there are currently sun -based investment products, The author refers to the possible approval of the funds quoted in the stock market (ETF) based on this asset in the United States. Everything indicates that the changes in the stock and values commission (SEC) will pave the way to be approved but, for the moment, we will have to continue waiting for news.