Ethereum May Not Survive the Next Decade, Warns Charles Hoskinson
Cardano founder and former Ethereum co-creator Charles Hoskinson has cast serious doubt on Ethereum’s long-term future. In a recent AMA (Ask-Me-Anything) session, Hoskinson claimed that Ethereum could collapse within the next 10 to 15 years due to deep structural and economic flaws.
Despite Ethereum holding the largest total value locked (TVL) among blockchain networks, Hoskinson warns that its current trajectory is unsustainable. He pointed to three key issues: a flawed accounting model, an inefficient virtual machine, and a consensus mechanism he deems outdated.
“They have the wrong accounting model, they have the wrong virtual machine, and they have the wrong consensus model,” said Hoskinson.
He also criticized Ethereum’s reliance on Layer 2 (L2) scaling solutions, calling them “parasitic” for drawing value away from the main chain rather than solving Ethereum’s core scalability challenges. According to him, any attempt to fix these foundational issues would likely end in conflict due to the network’s complex governance and tokenomics.
Hoskinson went so far as to compare Ethereum’s future to defunct tech brands like Myspace and Blackberry—once dominant, but ultimately overtaken by innovation and better management.
“Ethereum may not survive the next decade. The layer 2s will keep siphoning value, and eventually, the community will fracture. Vitalik can’t hold it together forever,” he warned.
His comments come as Ethereum struggles through a tough 2025. High gas fees, sluggish institutional interest, and competition from Bitcoin’s growing DeFi ecosystem have weighed heavily on ETH’s performance. Many analysts agree that L2s like Arbitrum and Optimism, while improving scalability, are also decentralizing value away from Ethereum’s base layer.
However, there may be light at the end of the tunnel. Ethereum’s upcoming Pectra and Fusaka upgrades are expected to deliver much-needed scalability improvements later this year. If successful, they could address longstanding congestion issues and attract more real-world use cases.
Still, Hoskinson’s warning has added fuel to a growing conversation in the crypto space: can Ethereum evolve fast enough to stay relevant—or will it be overtaken in the next decade?
