Cons and Pros of Ethereum

It is no secret in the world of blockchain that the Ethereum blockchain is the network of choice for most enterprises and dApp or decentralized application developers. It has become quite the market leader when it comes to hosting a wide array of use cases and even though its crypto token ETH or Ether has fallen to third place in terms of market cap recently, the reputation of Ethereum remains largely untarnished for the role it plays in making blockchain accessible to a large number of diverse businesses and developers. Clearly, it enjoys quite a few pros. However, with the advent of new competitors, some of its inherent flaws are also coming to our attention and these make it to the list of its cons. In this article, we take a look at the major pros and cons of Ethereum.

You may also read: A Beginner’s Guide to Ethereum Classic

Pros of Ethereum

Ethereum’s widespread acceptability and reliability across the crypto world and the market at large derives from the several merits this blockchain network has. Let’s have a look at what they are:

1. The Highly Visible and Immensely Competent Leadership:

Ethereum’s founder Vitalik Buterin finds frequent mentions in crypto headlines and drives much of the blockchain network’s clarity of vision. His active participation in the world of crypto lends a great deal of credibility to the network he developed. In addition, the competent community of developers such as Lubin or Zamfir add to the reliability and reputation of this network.

2. The Potent Functionality of the Ethereum Blockchain:

The very fact that Ethereum supports elements such as blockchain smart contracts, dApps and decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs) makes it a highly functional blockchain to go for. In addition, it has set a benchmark in the world of ICO tokens by introducing the ERC-20 standard tokens. The great tokenization, the functionalities that render it useful in fields as diverse as gaming and prediction markets, are factors that make Ethereum so great.

3. Ethereum Has Clarity in Terms of Regulatory Obligation:

As the US Securities and Exchange Commission or the SEC ruled earlier this year that Ethereum does not count as a security according to the Howey Test (meant for determining the criteria to be fulfilled for an asset class to be called “security”). This means that it is free of responding to regulatory obligations put in place for securities.

4. Ethereum Is Backed By Notable Venture Capitalists:

Big names in the VC (venture capitalist) market have given their support to Ethereum blockchain. Notable ones among them include Union Square Ventures, AngelList founder Naval Ravikant, Andreessen Horowitz and Fred Ehrsam, the man who had co-founded leading cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase.

You May Also Read : 10 Differences Between Ethereum and Ethereum Classic

Cons of Ethereum

Ethereum has been facing certain issues lately and they make up the demerits or cons of the Ethereum network. Let’s have a look at what they might be:

1. Excessive Dependence on Buterin’s Fame:

Buterin is a huge name in the crypto world and even the slightest of rumors of his death or some news concerning him affects Ethereum’s position in the market. In fact we have seen ETH worth 4 billion dollars being sold off following a hoax regarding Buterin having died. This excessive dependence on one man might affect Ethereum quite poorly.

2. Delay In Shifting to Proof of Stake Consensus Protocol:

Ethereum’s shift to PoS Consensus Protocol has been on the cards for a while now and the crypto community has looking forward to it. A long-standing delay in the process is affecting the speed and reputation of the network.

3. Emerging Competition:

Many new competitors are emerging in the market, that are basically doing what altcoins did to Bitcoin. They are taking lessons from the flaws of Ethereum and enhancing its functionality and making the most of it to create a product that is potentially even better than Ethereum itself. In our guide to NEO coin, we have shown how the network underlying the coin is already called the “Ethereum killer” for that reason.

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