Top 5 Ethereum Rivals in 2024

The development of Ethereum has been pivotal to the crypto ecosystem as a whole. It rose to prominence quickly and earned its spot as the second most valuable coin, right after Bitcoin. To put things in perspective, ETH was launched via an Initial Coin Offering (ICO) in 2014 at $0.31 per coin. Making a USD to ETH conversion now, ETH is worth ~$3,600, over 1,000,000% in growth during the last decade. Part of Ethereum’s value comes from the fact that it introduced smart contracts, which allowed for the development of dApps.

However, the surge of DeFi protocols brought a lot of new investors to Ethereum, and the network couldn’t handle that much traffic. This issue congested the blockchain, increasing transaction fees and confirmation time. In response to that, many Ethereum rivals appeared in the ecosystem, offering similar features with a higher throughput.

1. Toncoin (TON)

Toncoin is the result of the blockchain that was initially developed by Telegram but had to be cut short. After that, an independent group of developers took on the project and launched The Open Network (TON). Like Ethereum, TON allows developers to create decentralized applications on the blockchain. It also employs a Proof-of-Stake (PoS) consensus mechanism, which reduces energy consumption. However, unlike most competitors, TON is not EVM-compatible. This means that dApps created on TON can’t be migrated to Ethereum, and vice versa.

TON implemented sharding technology, which splits the network into different subnets that validate transactions independently. Sharding increases the throughput of the network and validates a higher number of transactions. During a public test that took place in October 2023, the TON blockchain was able to handle 104,715 transactions per second. Ethereum, on the other hand, can only process around 15 to 20 tps, although this figure will likely increase with future upgrades.

The price of TON started rising around October 2023, following market trends and positioned itself as the 9th most valuable coin. In the coming months, analysts predict it could reach as high as $30 by year’s end, a 400% growth from current prices.

2. Avalanche (AVAX)

Avalanche is one of the most successful Ethereum competitors. It launched in September 2020, and since then, it has climbed to rank #11 in market aggregators. One of its defining characteristics is the use of three separate chains: X-Chain, P-Chain, and C-Chain. The first one is used to make AVAX transactions. P-Chain is used for stakers and node validators. The C-Chain is tasked with operating smart contracts, processing dApps transactions, and functioning.

It can process up to 6,500 tps, and transactions are validated in a second. Besides that, fees are minimal, and they’re burned on each operation, reducing the circulating supply. Perhaps the most notable feature is its compatibility with the EVM. This allows developers to migrate dApps from one network to another, and even bridge both blockchains. So, for example, these five projects on Ethereum can run as easily as they do on the Avalanche blockchain as well.

3. Aptos

Aptos is the most recent cryptocurrency featured on this list. It was launched in October 2022, and it has since then reached #28 on crypto listings. It was created by the developers of the canceled Diem project — the blockchain built by Meta. Aptos also implemented a PoS consensus mechanism to validate transactions, and its smart contracts use an innovative programming language called Move. DApps built on Aptos can be used for social media and entertainment platforms, DeFi protocols, AI solutions, NFT art, and video games.

According to the Aptos Foundation, the maximum registered tps is 8,400, higher than Ethereum and Avalanche. This is achieved using a protocol allowing parallel execution, which validates transactions simultaneously. Aptos took a step further and launched a bridge, allowing users to directly transfer funds from one another. The available chains are Ethereum, Polygon, BNB, Optimism, Arbitrum, and Avalanche.

4. Neo

Neo is the oldest project on the list launched in 2014 under the name Antshares. It rebranded in 2017 and implemented an upgrade in 2018 called Neo3. To reach a consensus, Neo uses a protocol called Delegated Byzantine Fault Tolerance (dBFT), which speeds up the process of validating transactions. Besides smart contract features and dApps, Neo also integrates a set of useful protocols. These feature oracles, storage, and identity solutions, as well as DNS and interoperability with Ethereum and similar networks.

Although Neo was highly popular a few years ago, it has lost market dominance to other alternatives. It reached its All-Time High in January 2018, at $196.85 with a $10.98 billion market capitalization. During the 2021 bull run, it couldn’t surpass these figures and reached a peak of $122 with an $8.66 billion market value. However, it is currently far from that, and its price at the time of writing is $14.98.

5. Optimism (OP)

Optimism, unlike the rest of the projects featured here, does not compete against Ethereum but rather attempts to enhance its performance. It runs as a layer-two solution on the Ethereum blockchain and implements a technology called optimistic rollups. This protocol processes transactions off-chain and then communicates a batch of finalized operations to the main Ethereum chain. Optimism’s approach reduces the fees and increases the transaction speed. It can process up to 2,000 tps. Popular dApps, like Uniswap and Synthetix, operate on the Optimism chain.