"Ethereum ( ) and Solana ( ) approach 2026 with contrasting positions. Ethereum remains institutionalized, but its expansion relies entirely on Layer 2s rather than mainnet power. Solana, on the other hand, is coming off a year of record on-chain activity: 186% year-over-year revenue growth, and rising institutional interest through new ETFs."
"Throughput and Architecture Solana's design centers on raw execution speed, delivering near-instant finality and high-volume throughput. And Firedancer is set to push performance further in 2026. Ethereum's modular roadmap prioritizes decentralization, leaving most transaction activity to L2s. This creates a fragmented environment where liquidity spreads across Arbitrum, Optimism, and Base rather than staying unified."
Solana entered 2026 with record on-chain activity, 186% year-over-year revenue growth, rising ETF-driven institutional interest, and a retail-focused user base concentrated on memecoins, gaming, and low-fee transactions. Firedancer and Fusaka upgrades aim to further increase Solana's throughput and performance. Ethereum remains institutionalized, with deep liquidity and security prioritized on mainnet while transaction volume shifts to a maturing Layer 2 ecosystem like Arbitrum, Optimism, and Base. High Layer 1 fees push everyday users to L2s, fragmenting liquidity across multiple rollups. Developer dynamics differ: Solana's community is smaller but rapidly expanding, while Ethereum retains the largest developer pool focused on L2s and institutional use cases.
Read at 24/7 Wall St.
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