Tezos' Race to Catch Up: How Governance Pioneer Tackles Post-Etherean Challenges

Arthur Breitman, co-founder of the Tezos blockchain, will lead a panel discussion at TOKEN2049 Singapore, a major Web3 and blockchain conference, to discuss the platform’s evolving strategy and future prospects. The session will focus on Tezos’ recent technological advancements, including the launch of Etherlink, an Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM)-compatible layer-2 solution, and Tezos X, a high-throughput rollup designed to enhance scalability. These developments aim to position Tezos as a competitive smart contract platform amid a crowded market dominated by Ethereum and emerging competitors.

Breitman emphasized Tezos’ unique governance model as a core differentiator, noting that the network has implemented on-chain upgrades since its 2017 launch. Unlike many blockchains, Tezos allows stakeholders to vote on protocol changes directly, ensuring adaptability without hard forks. This self-amending capability, combined with early adoption of proof-of-stake consensus and slashing mechanisms, has positioned Tezos as a pioneer in decentralized governance. However, the co-founder acknowledged that the platform faced challenges in 2019–2020, falling behind competitors in addressing user demands for throughput and latency improvements. Recent upgrades, including the development of Etherlink and Tezos X, reflect efforts to close these gaps.

The Etherlink layer-2 network, launched in 2024, has already attracted over 50 projects, with a focus on decentralized finance (DeFi), non-fungible tokens (NFTs), and gaming. Breitman highlighted the strategic importance of EVM compatibility, allowing developers to migrate existing Ethereum-based applications to Tezos without rewriting code. This approach contrasts with Tezos’ native Michelson language, which, while technically robust, has limited adoption among developers. Etherlink’s token model also diverges from traditional layer-2 solutions, with a focus on sustainable liquidity through targeted asset pairs rather than broad, speculative metrics like total value locked.

Another key initiative discussed was the tokenization of uranium assets on the Tezos network. Breitman cited uranium’s potential as a “technology-flavored commodity” aligned with growing demand for nuclear energy, particularly in the context of AI-driven data center growth and carbon-neutrality goals. The Uranium.io platform, built on Etherlink, enables fractional ownership of physical uranium, addressing barriers to entry for traditional investors. This use case builds on earlier tokenization experiments on Tezos and reflects the platform’s broader push into real-world asset (RWA) integration.

Despite Tezos’ native token (XTZ) trading with a market cap of approximately $510 million as of mid-2025—far below its $7 billion peak in 2021—Breitman remains optimistic. He attributed the market’s struggles to overcapitalization and a lack of differentiated use cases but pointed to emerging opportunities in DeFi, NFTs, and RWAs as potential growth drivers. The co-founder also defended proof-of-stake consensus against critics, arguing that it offers a more scalable and energy-efficient alternative to proof-of-work, a stance reinforced by Ethereum’s 2022 merge.

At the TOKEN2049 panel, Breitman will also address broader industry trends, including the role of tokenized assets in diversifying crypto ecosystems and the challenges of attracting liquidity to layer-2 networks. His remarks will follow recent appearances at events like the Digital Assets Forum and TezDev2023, where he outlined Tezos’ roadmap and emphasized its commitment to innovation. The Tezos ecosystem has already demonstrated its presence at major conferences, with a booth at TOKEN2049 and a showcase at the Tezos Realm, underscoring its growing visibility in the global blockchain landscape.

Source: [1] Arthur Breitman's Interview, co-founder of Tezos - CoinShares (https://coinshares.com/us/insights/the-node/arthur-breitman-tezos-interview/) [2] 18 ARTHUR BREITMAN articles - spotlight.tezos.com (https://spotlight.tezos.com/tag/arthur-breitman/index.html)