Ethereum News Today: Crypto's Survival of the Fittest: Ethereum and Solana Outlast Rivals

Arthur Hayes, co-founder of BitMEX, has reaffirmed his conviction that Ethereum and Solana are the only layer-1 (L1) blockchains with long-term viability, dismissing emerging projects like Monad as "zero" and predicting their collapse. In a November 28 interview with Altcoin Daily, Hayes emphasized that institutional adoption is the key to Ethereum's endurance, stating that traditional financial institutions have finally accepted the limitations of private blockchains and will turn to public networks for Web3 integration. He argued that Ethereum's established security, scalability, and institutional trust make it the default choice for banks and investors, a view reinforced by the stablecoin boom accelerating Web3 adoption.

Solana, the second network Hayes endorsed, faces a different challenge: sustaining growth. While he acknowledged its recent rebound and high-performance capabilities, Hayes noted that the network's meme coin frenzy has waned and that it needs "new tricks" to maintain momentum according to Hayes. He cautioned that Solana is unlikely to outperform Ethereum over time, despite its institutional traction and recent ETF-related inflows as reported. The co-founder also highlighted the broader market trend of consolidation, asserting that most L1s outside Ethereum and Solana lack meaningful use cases or user activity.

Hayes' skepticism extended to Monad, a high-performance L1 launched in late November with a public sale and airdrop. Despite MON's 19% price surge post-airdrop, Hayes labeled it a "high-FTV, low-float piece of VC lint" and predicted a 99% decline in value. His critique aligns with broader market concerns about low circulating supply and speculative hype, as MON's price later plummeted by over 90%. While Hayes admitted purchasing MON tokens, he dismissed their short-term gains as unsustainable, reiterating his focus on Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana as core holdings.

The institutional narrative underpinning Hayes' thesis is gaining traction. Franklin Templeton and Grayscale's Ethereum ETFs have drawn significant inflows, while Solana's ETFs also attract investors amid a broader market selloff according to industry analysis. However, Hayes warned that most L1s will fail to replicate Ethereum and Solana's success, citing the lack of real-world utility in competing projects. His analysis mirrors a broader industry shift toward consolidation, with Ethereum's Layer 2 ecosystem and Solana's retail-driven activity positioning them as dominant forces as predicted.

Market reactions to Hayes' comments have been mixed. While Ethereum and Solana remain the largest L1s by market capitalization, projects like Monad and others face mounting pressure to deliver tangible use cases. For now, the crypto landscape appears poised for a winnowing of smaller chains, with institutional and retail demand increasingly concentrated on a handful of networks as predicted.