5 Cardano Rivals to Watch as Founder Predicts Ethereum Will Die by 2040

Hoskinson, an original co-founder of Ethereum, highlighted issues around layer-2 reliance, decentralization trade-offs, and ecosystem fragmentation as critical vulnerabilities.

“Without fundamental reform, Ethereum risks disintegration by 2040,” Hoskinson said, citing longstanding market concerns regarding the networks technical roadmap.

Ethereums transition toward rollups and modular scaling, including recent updates such as Dencun, has not eliminated bottlenecks related to cost and throughput.

These factors has seen Cardano rivals like Solana, Avalanche and a handful of others gain ground on Ethereum in recent weeks.

Cardano Rivals to Watch if Ethereum Collapses by 2040

Notably, Charles Hoskinson founding member of Ethereum before exiting to found Cardano. Hence its unsuprisingly that his prediction of Ethereums collapse weighs heavy on market sentiment.

If Ethereum continues to lose market share, Avalanche, Solana, Polkadot, NEAR Protocol, and Algorand are some 5 Cardano rivals to watch in the months ahead, based on recent price trends, ETF filings and institutional demand for these assets.

Avalanche (AVAX)

Avalanche price action, April 27, 2025 | Coingecko

• Avalanches high transaction throughput, customisable subnets, and enterprise integrations strengthen its case as a scalable smart-contract platform.

Solana (SOL)

Solana price action, April 27, 2025 | Coingecko

• Solana ETF applications by Franklin Templeton, Grayscale, and VanEck remain under SEC evaluation, with decision deadlines in October 2025 according to Bloomberg chief ETF analyst Eric Balchunas.
• Solanas fast transactions through-put and growing decentralized finance (DeFi) traction continues to drive institutional and developer interest.

Polkadot (DOT)

Polkadot (DOT) price action, April 27, 2025 | Coingecko

NEAR Protocol (NEAR)

Near Protocol price action, April 27, 2025 | Coingecko

Algorand (ALGO)

Algorand (ALGO) protocol price action, April 27 2025 | CoingeckoIn summary:

Hoskinson‘s assessment of Ethereum’s future emphasizes growing concerns surround the long-term viability of the pioneer smart-contract blockchain network. Despite a leadership shuffle at the Ethereum Foundation in early March 2025, key on-chain benchmarks like scalability, governance, and decentralization resilience remain clouded under pesimism.

As regulatory clarity improves and technological differentiation widens, Cardano rivals like platforms like Avalanche, Solana, Polkadot, NEAR, and Algorand, able to meet those demands are expected to gain market share.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Hoskinson predicts Ethereums scalability, governance issues, and reliance on layer-2 solutions will undermine its viability within 15 years.

Avalanche, Solana, Polkadot, NEAR Protocol, and Algorand are top contenders to gain market share if Ethereum collapses by 2040.

ETF filings forAvalanche, Solana, Polkadot, NEAR, and Algorand signal growing institutional interest and acceptance, which could drive prices higher.