Ethereum (ETH) celebrates its 10th anniversary today. Created by developer Vitalik Buterin, Ethereum has consolidated its position as the second-largest cryptocurrency, dubbed the 'digital oil'.
Ethereum's first decade marked many important milestones. Now, as we enter the next decade, BeInCrypto has spoken with experts to gain insights into what the next 10 years will bring for Ethereum.
Will Ethereum Continue to Dominate Web3 by 2035?
BeInCrypto has reported on Ethereum's many contributions to the cryptocurrency space. In its first ten years, this network pioneered smart contracts, the ERC-20 standard, DeFi innovation, and more. These achievements have solidified Ethereum's role in the Web3 ecosystem as a leading blockchain platform.
But will everything remain the same by 2035, or will another blockchain replace Ethereum? Many experts believe the former will be true. Silvina Moschini, co-founder and Strategy Director of Unicoin, emphasizes that Ethereum will continue to be the backbone of the Web3 ecosystem at that time.
"Ethereum's persistence, maturity, and adaptability make it not just a leading blockchain, but an engine of serious innovation, and it will continue to set standards in the coming decade," she told BeInCrypto.
She noted that the network supports tokenized economies, decentralized finance, and large-scale digital identity systems. According to her, its unparalleled developer community and robust smart contract framework position Ethereum at the center of future innovation.
"Ethereum will not just exist but will develop strongly. Although competition from newer blockchains will continue to emerge, Ethereum's first-mover advantage, deep liquidity, and unparalleled developer ecosystem will remain powerful differentiating factors. It is not just a blockchain of records, but the backbone of Web3's culture and technology," Moschini commented.
Vincent Liu, CIO of Kronos Research, also shared a similar perspective.
"It will remain the dominant destination for depth, discovery, and reliable liquidity as long as these fundamental factors remain solid," Liu added.
Shawn Young, Lead Analyst at MEXC Research, emphasized that although Ethereum may not be the fastest or most cost-efficient chain, it is expected to develop into the most reliable and interoperable network.
The network will serve as a security and payment layer for an ecosystem of Layer 2 rollups, modular chains, and tokenized real assets. The analyst revealed to BeInCrypto that,
"Ethereum's future strength will lie in its extensive developer ecosystem, organizational integration, and its overall role as digital infrastructure, similar to TCP/IP for the internet."
He also emphasized Ethereum's first-mover advantage. It is supported by tested infrastructure, and network effects contribute to its persistence.
"While newer chains may lead in areas like gaming or AI platforms, Ethereum remains a versatile, organization-friendly base layer that is difficult to replace. I expect a multi-chain future with Ethereum as the platform for high-value, high-security segments," Young affirmed.
Bitget's COO Vugar Usi Zade acknowledged that Ethereum is not the only protocol progressing through network upgrades. It faces competition from newer chains like Solana, BNB Chain, Cardano, SUI, and XRP Ledger. However,
"Ethereum will always be a favorite choice, given that it currently holds a large portion of DeFi's total locked value. Some TradFi companies participating in the ecosystem will still choose robust legacies, especially as Ethereum celebrates 10 years of uninterrupted operation, an achievement most large tech companies cannot be proud of. Ethereum's appeal lies in its large developer ecosystem, most of whom have branched out to develop other chains."
Additionally, Richard Seiler, co-founder of RR2 Capital, explained that Ethereum has proven this year to be the most important EVM blockchain, with no real competitors. It leads in total locked value (TVL), developer commitment, decentralized applications (dApps), and stablecoin issuance, far surpassing all other chains by a significant margin.
"Yes, there will be faster and cheaper chains. But they are not Ethereum. It is a brand. It represents trust. In a trustless manner," he mentioned.
Moreover, Ray Youssef, CEO of NoOnes, believes Ethereum's greatest contribution in 2035 will go beyond any technology. It will be 'human'.
"Many see Ethereum as a powerful tool enabling people to build their own economic freedom, especially in areas where traditional systems have failed. Its smart contract infrastructure has enabled P2P finance and decentralized ID solutions, and in the future, it is likely to play a role as one of the primary drivers of a borderless and inclusive economy," the executive commented.
However, C.J Freeman, Developer Relations at Kadena, suggested that the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) is likely to remain the most important and dominant virtual machine in the blockchain space even in the next decade.
"I still see EVM as the top VM for all blockchain at that time, I think the network effect is too strong for it not to be. Whether Ethereum will still be the default blockchain for it remains to be seen," he noted.
What Are the Biggest Threats to Ethereum's Future?
Although most opinions suggest that Ethereum will exist for a long time, it still needs to overcome many obstacles. Liu points out that scalability remains Ethereum's biggest challenge, especially as new blockchains like Solana and Sui offer faster and lower-cost alternatives.
According to him, Ethereum must expand rollup adoption and improve speed to maintain competitiveness.
Moreover, Silvina Moschini emphasizes broader ongoing issues.
"Ethereum faces a complex threatening landscape in the coming years, including scalability bottlenecks, excessive regulatory intervention, increasingly fierce competition from faster chains, and growing hidden vulnerabilities in Layer 2 networks. As Ethereum shifts more functions to these secondary layers to enhance performance, it must also ensure that the integrity and security of the entire ecosystem are not compromised," Moschini revealed.
Usi Zade drew attention to quantum computing as a major future threat. He disclosed that despite the industry's safety in the next decade, Ethereum lacks protection against potential quantum attacks.
"While SUI has made a breakthrough in quantum conversion that can protect EdDSA-based protocols, Ethereum and Bitcoin have no immediate measures to defend against quantum computer attacks," the CEO said.
Additionally, Freeman warns about internal threats that could undermine Ethereum's decentralization.
"The transition to PoS was a shock for many veterans in the crypto industry. If ETH is captured by unwanted countries or third parties, it will lose its future use case as a decentralized and secure Layer 1 for all operating L2s. If the base layer is compromised, people will leave, and ETH will (ultimately) become a ghost chain," he expressed.
Finally, Youssef argues that Ethereum's greatest threat is losing sight of its mission. Too many regulations could exclude the ordinary people who need Ethereum most, turning it into just another tool for Wall Street.
For Ethereum to survive, it must focus on decentralization, availability, and purpose, serving individuals rather than institutions.
Ethereum's Vision for 2035: Sharding, zk-Rollups, and AI-Controlled Smart Contracts
Amid these challenges, experts believe the network can undergo technological advances or upgrades to address most obstacles and move towards further improvement.
Usi Zade explains that Ethereum has not yet completed its full transition to a Proof-of-Stake blockchain. So far, it has only implemented The Merge, with some aspects of The Surge still in progress.
"The Surge focuses on expansion with a full Danksharding set expected to be deployed in the coming months. After this upgrade, Ethereum developers will focus on The Verge to optimize data and storage through Verkle Trees, The Purge to reduce network congestion, and The Splurge, which will focus on bug fixes and minor improvements. The Fusaka upgrade will be deployed by the end of this year, and developers in the Ethereum ecosystem will work on other updates as needed to meet mainstream world demands," he told BeInCrypto.
Youssef says that by 2035, Ethereum will likely fully deploy sharding, zk-rollups, and privacy protection layers, enabling cheap and secure transactions accessible even on mobile phones in remote areas. Additionally, Moschini suggests that Ethereum might implement AI-based smart contract optimization.
Seiler points out that implementing upgrades for a blockchain like Ethereum is a significant challenge. He emphasizes that this reality needs to be recognized and appreciated.
"They will continue to focus on L2 efficiency and ultimately bring gas fees down below 0.01 USD per transaction. Expanding blob capabilities and processing more blob data is a primary priority. With the strong development of RWA, one can expect this to become an even greater priority," Seiler said.
Freeman focuses on technological developments from a developer's perspective.
"Perhaps some will consider 'quantum resistance' or other keyword improvements, I can't say whether that will happen or not, but I can say what we will see. For me, as a developer, I'm quite certain we'll see continuous improvements in state storage (a cost issue for all ETH developers). Currently, this is very expensive, and we write our code around it, so it would be great if this is no longer a major issue," he predicted.
Experts Reveal Surprising Predictions for Ethereum
Meanwhile, experts also shared surprising or unusual development predictions for Ethereum. Youssef envisions Ethereum becoming a 'digital nation', providing global, sovereign infrastructure with its own governance system, reputation system, and potentially decentralized IDs.
This would help individuals in oppressive regimes create economic identities, access financial tools, and protect their freedoms. This, in turn, would transform Ethereum from a technology platform into a global movement.
"Ethereum might surprise many by becoming a global ID network connecting on-chain and off-chain lives, something still overlooked due to security and privacy barriers. This will transform it from a financial center to the heart of social networks and governance worlds," Liu from Kronos Research added.
Usi Zade sees Ethereum developing into a mobile-priority blockchain, allowing anyone to run Ethereum nodes on mobile devices, thereby promoting adoption.
"Core developers, like Vitalik Buterin, have always envisioned a future where almost anyone can run Ethereum nodes on mobile phones with minimal interaction. This achievement could be reached in the next decade, a move that will quickly promote chain acceptance, its products, and set a new standard for other chains," Bitget's COO told BeInCrypto.
Silvina Moschini suggested that Ethereum could become what she calls 'Ethereum Q.' This would be a quantum-resistant blockchain capable of securely tokenizing various assets. This would transform its identity from a DeFi leader to a global digital trust layer.
Seiler predicted that Ethereum will play a crucial role in the real-world assets (RWA) market.
"A surprising but possible outcome is Ethereum becoming a public infrastructure used by governments for identification, taxes, and asset registration. This would not come from centralization, but potentially from its trustworthiness and neutrality. If many sovereign nations build on Ethereum, the chain's identity could significantly change from a base experiment to something like a geopolitical infrastructure, a redefinition of its original spirit," Young stated.
Ethereum Price Prediction: Experts Share Forecasts for 2025, 2030, and 2035
Although Ethereum's future as a network is important, its price potential cannot be overlooked. Experts offer various predictions about the heights Ethereum (ETH) could reach in the next decade.
"It's impossible to predict exactly 10 years ahead, but instead ask, do you believe Ethereum's price will be higher, or much higher in the next 10 years? We can easily conclude that they will be much higher," Seiler shared with BeInCrypto.
He noted that, considering the altcoin price surge and significant delay compared to Bitcoin, ETH could reach $6,000 to $8,000 in 2025, with a potential "peak" pushing it to $10,000.
Youssef predicted that ETH will stabilize between $3,000 to $5,000 in 2025, depending on market conditions and ETF capital flows. ETH could climb to $10,000–$25,000 in the next five years, driven by real-use cases. By 2035, if Ethereum expands globally and serves underserved markets, it could reach $50,000–$100,000.
"At the current rate of institutional buying, Ethereum is likely to break its All-Time-High of $4,891.70 by the end of this quarter. I agree with analysts seeing more ambitious price levels for ETH in the future. I see Ethereum trading comfortably at $15,000 in the next 5 years, and in 10 years, ETH could be more valuable than Bitcoin with a price target of $40,000 per coin," Usi Zade shared with BeInCrypto.
Moreover, Moschini linked Ethereum's price to its increasingly growing utility and role in the digital economy. By 2025, she predicts a price range of $4,500–$5,500, with significant profits in 2030 ($12,000–$15,000) due to institutional investment and tokenization. By 2035, she sees Ethereum surpassing $25,000 as it becomes a global payment layer.
Finally, Young expects Ethereum to trade between $2,800–$4,500 in 2025, with growth potential up to $8,000–$20,000 in the next five years. By 2035, he sees ETH reaching $40,000–$100,000, driven by institutional demand, tokenization, and Ethereum's increasingly important role in digital finance, with regulatory clarity and scaling efforts being key factors.
