Charles Hoskinson Says Ethereum May Not Survive the Next Decade

Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson is questioning Ethereum’s long-term future.

During a Wednesday ask-me-anything (AMA) session, he said the blockchain might not survive the next 10 to 15 years despite boasting the largest total volume locked (TVL) of any network.

Hoskinson’s Critique

Hoskinson identified three major flaws in Ethereum’s structure:

“They have the wrong accounting model, they have the wrong virtual machine, and they have the wrong consensus model.”

The developer, who also co-founded Ethereum, criticized its failing economics and use of Layer 2 (L2) solutions. According to him, L2s have become “parasitic.” He claims that these networks are not solving Ethereum’s core scalability problems and are instead pulling value away from the main chain.

To get back on track, the platform needs to solve the three problems. However, Hoskinson believes the process would end in a “very hostile divorce” given the blockchain’s governance and tokenomics.

He likened its situation to that of former technology giants Myspace and Blackberry, which he referenced as examples of early innovators that eventually collapsed due to competition and mismanagement.

“I don’t think Ethereum will survive more than 10 years to 15 years. The layer 2s will continue to suckle out all of the alpha,“ stated Hoskinson. “People will start fighting and it’ll get harder and harder for Vitalik to be able to hold it together through sheer force of will.”

Further, he believes users will gradually migrate to other platforms and Ethereum will be “eclipsed,” especially by Bitcoin’s decentralized finance (DeFi) ecosystem, whose TVL Hoskinson expects will become much larger.

ETH’s Struggles in 2025

ETH’s performance in 2025 has been a major topic of discussion in the crypto space. The second-largest cryptocurrency has had one of its worst starts to a year, with analysts citing several reasons for this decline. Some experts have echoed Hoskinson, saying its economic model is weakening because L2 networks like Arbitrum and Optimism are diverting value away from Ethereum itself.

They have also mentioned high gas fees and regulatory uncertainty as possible causes of ETH’s poor showing. Additionally, institutional interest in the blockchain also remains lower than Bitcoin, affecting its market performance.

Nonetheless, Ethereum’s Pectra and Fusaka upgrades, scheduled for later this year, are expected to deliver core improvements that could ease these challenges. The changes are expected to address the network’s long-standing congestion issues, making transactions faster and more efficient.

According to Binance Research, the enhancements will boost the network’s scalability and usability, potentially making it more practical for high-volume crypto payment use cases.

With ETH recently shaking off its languor to move from the $1,500 level to $1,815, analysts think it could finally break free from bearish patterns towards a new momentum. The asset has since dipped slightly to $1,743, which is still a 9.3% improvement over the last seven days, meaning ETH has just outperformed the broader crypto market, which gained 8.10% in that period.