Uniswap Founder Warns Ethereum Could Lose DeFi Edge to Solana

Ethereum

Uniswap Founder Warns Ethereum Could Lose DeFi Edge to Solana

Hayden Adams, the creator of Uniswap, has raised a red flag for the Ethereum community, warning that a failure to double down on Layer 2 (L2) scaling could cost the network its dominance in the DeFi space.

Adams praised Solana for its clear vision and unified developer focus, stating that its streamlined Layer 1 (L1) architecture may be more suitable for hosting decentralized finance applications at scale.

“Ethereum has been working towards an L2-centric roadmap for 5+ years,” Adams wrote. “You want to throw this away at the final stretch because of what reason？”

His comments have sparked renewed debate over Ethereums long-term scaling strategy and whether it can continue leading the DeFi sector in the face of growing Solana momentum.

Solanas Simplicity Gains Ground

While Ethereum works to mature its modular scaling ecosystem, Solana is aggressively advancing on-chain DeFi with fast, low-cost transactions directly on its base layer. Adams emphasized that Solanas design makes it more straightforward to execute DeFi on Layer 1, without relying on rollups or bridging.

Ethereum still holds the DeFi crown with over $47 billion in total value locked (TVL), but Solana is gaining ground as a lighter, faster alternative—especially appealing to new builders.

Frustration in the Ethereum Ecosystem Grows

Adams‘ warning comes as some Ethereum developers express concern over the network’s current direction. Earlier this year, Ethereum core dev Max Resnick left the project for Solana, citing slow innovation at the base layer and what he called a “rigid developer culture.”

This reflects broader community concerns about Ethereums deliberate pace and heavy dependence on L2 solutions like rollups to handle scaling.

Despite these concerns, Adams remains committed to Ethereums L2 roadmap and urges the community not to pivot hastily.

“Solana‘s doing a great job,” Adams said. “But Ethereum still has the lead—if we don’t fumble it.”

Im all for scaling improvements to L1, the rollup centric roadmap actually requires it

The thing I‘m against is confused takes where ethereum is on a “rollup centric roadmap” but all the important things still have to live on L1 and we need L2s to scale but we don’t support…

— Hayden Adams ???? (@haydenzadams) April 19, 2025