As noted earlier in 2022, Ethereum (ETH) competitors have had a bad year. Despite being the big highlights of 2021, they have suffered from the bear market alongside other altcoins in recent months. But can that change in 2023?
One of the big bets on market growth over the next year are projects related to scalability on ETH’s network, such as Polygon (MATIC) and Arbitrum. As the Surge is set to take place in 2023 and will be the update that will bring a more scalable blockchain to the leading smart contract platform, this issue is expected to be widespread and lead to a potential capitalization gain for altcoins.
However, this does not mean that Ethereum killers will not have a place in the spotlight. Although they have challenges to overcome, some highlights can be seen on Cardano (ADA), Solana (SOL) and Avalanche (AVAX). Let’s take a look at what 2023 could look like for Ethereum’s main competitors.
Cardano
First up is the oldest altcoin on this list. Launched in 2017, Cardano has one of the strongest communities in the blockchain industry. Despite losing more than 90% of its all-time high from September last year in 2022, ADA has maintained its network validators with one of the most attractive staking programs on the market.
Additionally, Cardano has managed to surpass the 4,000 smart contract mark and has one of the most developed blockchains in the crypto market, proving that developers have retained their interest in the altcoin. Immediately following Solana’s gargantuan fall, the cryptocurrency gained even more room to grow in capitalization.
Additionally, stablecoins will arrive on the ADA network in 2023 and this could be a bullish catalyst for the cryptocurrency. After all, more stablecoin assets could see it continue to increase its total value (TVL) in decentralized finance (DeFi).
However, the dark side of a stablecoin can also plague Cardano. In 2022, the crypto market watched as projects operating on stable assets suffer as maintaining a token’s parity with the US dollar is no easy task. Waves, Terra Classic, and Tron have shown major failures because of their stablecoins, and this could be the downside that ties ADA next year.
Solana
Without a doubt, Solana is the altcoin on this list that needs to reinvent itself the most, and it’s not just because of SOL’s constant network outages.
The altcoin has seen a sharp decline because it is a Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) backed crypto, and the entrepreneur’s companies have invested heavily in not only Solana but also tokens from its ecosystem.
However, this hasn’t hampered Solana’s growth in the non-fungible token (NFT) space. After Ethereum, Solana’s network remained a leader in this market. Of course, it should be noted that Solana has a fast network and low fees, which, while not exclusive to altcoins, is still attractive.
Meanwhile, in 2023, Solana might not just hold on to these points as it may not be a bullish factor for its token. The NFT market is looking for more maturity, so highs like 2021 may not be seen, and that may not favor Solana in a market where scalability alone doesn’t count for cap highs.
avalanche
Avalanche was also one of the cryptos negatively impacted by one of the 2022 crashes. When Terraform Labs’ empire collapsed in May, AVAX plummeted 30%. In fact, this has been a major fear for altcoin holders. Reaching the $32.50 mark, the crypto reached levels not seen since September 2021.
The decline came as investors feared a sale of AVAX, which could be held by Luna Foundation Guard (LFG). The foundation had bought over $70 million worth of Avalanche to hold the crypto as one of the protectors of the former UST peg.
However, that didn’t stop the Avalanche team from making key partnerships and releases that may help the Ethereum competitor stand out in 2023. A notable example of this is the launch of the Core cryptocurrency wallet, which is not only compatible with Avalanche, but is also adaptable to other EVM-compliant blockchain ecosystems.
The wallet has even caught the attention of Coinbase, one of the leading exchanges in the crypto market. The bitcoin and altcoin trading platform now offers its users a new option to convert funds to cryptocurrency in the core extension for use in DeFi, NFTs and remittances.