From Global Ambitions to Meme Coin Casinos
One of the most persistent narratives during each bull market has been the search for the perfect "Ethereum killer." Since 2017, dozens of projects have launched with promises of becoming the superior version of the second-largest cryptocurrency.
ForkLog revisits the evolution of alternative Layer 1 blockchains. In this new piece, we analyze the promises made, the billions raised, and the harsh reality faced by protocol teams in 2026.
Data on early-stage project investments is sourced from ICO Drops; information on total value locked (TVL) comes from the aggregator DeFiLlama.
The Birth of a Standard and Early Contenders for the Throne
In 2014, when the crypto market was solely associated with Bitcoin, Ethereum co-founders conducted a historic ICO. From July 22 to September 2, the project raised 31,591 BTC (around $18.6 million at the time). Investors bought the offered ETH at an average price of $0.31.
After the TGE in 2015, Ethereum's concept as a "world computer" based on smart contracts seemed groundbreaking. However, low throughput, a new programming language (Solidity), an unfamiliar governance system for DAOs, and user experience issues hindered its adoption. This created opportunities for early competitors.
Neo X (formerly NEO)
Launch: 2016
Funds Raised: $560,000 in the first public sale in October 2015, followed by an additional $4.5 million after TGE in 2016.
Founded in 2014, the project Antshares was rebranded as NEO and continued to develop as a Layer 1 blockchain. The marketing of the "Chinese Ethereum" capitalized on the niche nature of Solidity. Instead, engineers provided the ability to program smart contracts in C# and Java.
In 2023, facing liquidity issues, the team took steps to align with the ecosystem of the second-largest cryptocurrency. A year later, they launched the main EVM network Neo X.
Cardano
Launch: 2017
Funds Raised: ~$62 million
Created by Ethereum co-founder Charles Hoskinson, Cardano adopted an academic approach using the PoS consensus mechanism Ouroboros. The L1 developers expanded the UTXO model to include smart contract functionality (EUTXO). The protocol was marketed as "the only PoS family member with mathematically proven security."
In 2024, the project faced a wave of criticism hinting at the "death" of its ecosystem. In response, Hoskinson announced "major updates," primarily aimed at transitioning to decentralized governance.
Key focus areas for Cardano include: government initiatives, commercial sector solutions, RWA, and identity verification.
Tezos
Launch: 2017
Funds Raised: ~$242 million before TGE
Having raised a substantial amount during its ICO, Tezos attempted to outpace competitors amid disagreements following the The DAO hack. The project implemented on-chain governance through voting. Despite its innovative approach and investment volumes, the blockchain struggled to maintain high rankings after the end of the "DeFi summer" in 2022. As of April 2026, the network ranks 51st in TVL ($28.14 million).
In 2026, a global upgrade called Tezos X is planned. The team shifted focus from L1 to creating a rollup ecosystem based on modular architecture. The EVM-compatible solution Etherlink boasts high throughput and aims to align with Ethereum, moving away from the niche programming language Michelson and integrating RWA and DeFi for businesses.
Vaulta (formerly EOS)
Launch: 2017
Funds Raised: a record industry total of over $4 billion during its ICO
The EOS token sale lasted about a year — from June 26, 2017, to June 1, 2018. Representatives from Block.one marketed it as an operating system with high throughput and zero fees through a DPoS algorithm. Created by co-founder Dan Larimer, the mechanism was designed for 21 validators but had a complex governance structure. The lack of decentralization drew community criticism alongside numerous questions about the integrity of the ICO process.
In 2022, Block.one was accused of insufficiently funding protocol development. Larimer supported the community's efforts to regain control over the $4.2 billion treasury. Prolonged corporate lawsuits between the EOS Network Foundation and Block.one ultimately led to a rebranding. In 2025, a decision was made to radically shift strategy towards Web3 banking and the new name Vaulta.
TRON
Launch: 2017
Funds Raised: ~$78 million before TGE
The project positioned itself as an "Ethereum killer," but TRX was initially issued as an ERC-20 token and only later migrated to its own blockchain.
The protocol relied on code developed by the Ethereum Foundation and the DPoS consensus mechanism from EOS. As a result, Vitalik Buterin publicly accused TRON founder Justin Sun of plagiarism.
The platform's main advantage was the integration of USDT. High speed and low transaction costs made the blockchain one of the most popular for stablecoin users.
The DeFi Era and Venture Capital Boom
Ethereum gradually became the leading DeFi blockchain. Between 2019 and 2021, the average transaction fees rose to $5–20, peaking at over $60 during high-demand periods exceeding $60. The costs of interacting with the network became a problem that the next generation of venture-funded projects capitalized on.
Algorand
Launch: 2017 (mainnet and TGE launched in 2019)
Funds Raised: ~$126 million
The project's founder, Turing Award winner Silvio Micali, promised to solve the "blockchain trilemma" with its own Pure Proof-of-Stake consensus mechanism.
The project's engineering was meticulously designed, but its tokenomics and understanding of crypto investor psychology proved to be weak points in its early years.
Full validator nodes (relay nodes) became a closed club managed by universities and corporations sponsored by the Algorand Foundation.
The situation was exacerbated by a cyclical token sell-off by investors (accelerated unlocking) and high marketing costs .
By 2026, many shortcomings had been addressed, but the lost time affected the protocol's status in decentralized finance. According to DeFiLlama, as of April 2026, the platform's 30-day revenue from fees was $408.
Algorand's leadership continues to develop the project, focusing on RWA (real estate tokenization — startup Lofty) and solutions for businesses and government programs. In 2025, the blockchain was used to create a digital health passport for women in India.
Solana
Launch: 2020
Funds Raised: ~$360 million (of which ~$314 million after TGE in 2021)
The project's launch coincided with the start of the "DeFi summer." Solana was marketed as a high-speed network with transactions costing mere cents, achieved through the Proof-of-History (PoH) mechanism.
Having secured a substantial amount of investment after TGE, the leadership timely embraced narratives: a close relationship with FTX, the NFT boom, a blockchain for DePIN projects, the creation of a crypto smartphone, and RWA. Simultaneously, the company stimulated new user influx and provided developers with funding for project development.
The rapid growth of the SOL token, speed, and low transaction costs became the main drivers of adoption within the DeFi community. Users were not deterred by frequent blockchain outages.
At the peak of the meme coin trend, Solana transformed into a liquidity center for trading this asset class. This later led to a exodus of traders due to increased instances of fraud.
In 2026, the platform ranked among the top three in stablecoin USDT transaction volumes.
Polkadot
Launch: 2020
Funds Raised: ~$248 million (of which ~$205 million before TGE)
In response to Ethereum's scalability issues, co-founder Gavin Wood proposed the Layer 0 concept — a zero-level network and parachains sharing the security of a central node after leaving the project.
Thanks to its decentralized validator structure, Polkadot boasts the highest Nakamoto coefficient — 123, as of April 2026.
As in many other cases, technology without proper tokenomics, incentives, and marketing did not lead the team to compete equally with Ethereum.
The network revised its strategy, abandoning rigid parachain auction rentals, and is now focusing on the B2B segment and developers of specialized corporate blockchains. At the end of 2025, the protocol achieved its first quarterly profit in three years .
BNB Chain (formerly Binance Smart Chain, BSC)
Launch: 2020
Funds Raised: funded by Binance's own resources
The corporate fork of Ethereum from the Binance exchange sacrificed decentralization for low fees. The EVM-compatible network focuses on DeFi, meme coin trading, gaming, and all popular sectors, including RWA.
The project is one of the leaders in the DeFi sector and a serious competitor to Ethereum. Its ecosystem includes top applications: DEX PancakeSwap, lending platform Venus, and RWA platforms Securitize and Circle USYC.
Avalanche
Launch: 2020
Funds Raised: ~$285 million (of which ~$55 million before TGE)
The architecture consists of three built-in chains (X-Chain, C-Chain, P-Chain) and a graph-based consensus (DAG) that ensures instant transaction finalization and custom subnets.
This role separation allows isolating heavy smart contract computations from basic asset transfers and staking, protecting the network from critical overloads. Avalanche's concept anticipated today's mass trend towards modular blockchains.
The current strategy of Avalanche revolves around institutional subnets, government sector use, and RWA, targeting traditional banks and funds.
NEAR Protocol
Launch: 2020
Funds Raised: ~$544 million (of which ~$503 million raised after TGE)
Focusing on Nightshade sharding and user experience (human-readable addresses) aimed to attract mass users. However, as practice showed, a user-friendly interface and technology were insufficient to win the race for liquidity and developers.
Stepping away from direct L1 competition, NEAR transformed into a hub for network abstraction and a platform for consumer AI applications, striving to provide users with a seamless Web2 experience. A key tool became Chain Signatures, allowing asset management across networks (including Bitcoin and Ethereum) from a single NEAR account.
Internet Computer Protocol
Launch: 2021
Funds Raised: ~$167 million before TGE
ICP began as an ambitious "killer of centralized internet and Ethereum." The leadership promised to replace AWS and host social networks directly on the blockchain but failed to manage market manipulations, resulting in a 95% drop in the ICP token price.
Today, it is not a competitor to Ethereum but a unique L1 blockchain serving as decentralized hosting for the Web3 industry and enabling liquidity management of other networks without vulnerable bridges. The company's main focus has shifted to AI and decentralized cloud storage.
In February 2026, Pakistan's Digital Technology Authority and the ICP developer fund DFINITY signed a memorandum to create a sovereign digital AI infrastructure. The main goal is to keep all confidential data within the country and eliminate dependence on foreign cloud providers.
At the Graveyard with Great Speed
After Ethereum's transition to Proof-of-Stake and a shift in focus to L2, the "killers" concentrated on parallel data processing and the race for speed. The new generation of Layer 1 networks includes:
- Aptos (2022) and Sui (2023). Heirs of Meta's closed Diem project. The main innovation is the Move language and the ability to process transactions in parallel. Today, both projects position themselves as leaders in GameFi and DeSoc, targeting retail audiences that expect instant responses from Web3 applications without delays;
- Sei (2023). Positions itself as an L1 exclusively for trading with finalization in 400 ms. By choosing a narrow specialization strategy, Sei operates as a universal liquidity engine, catering to the needs of traders and DEX creators;
- Berachain (2024–2025). A project based on Cosmos SDK with a unique Proof-of-Liquidity (PoL) consensus, where liquidity providers act as security guarantors. The project's strategy revolves around total gamification of finance, transforming classic staking into a speculative flywheel;
- Monad (2025). Created by alumni of Jump Trading, Monad raised $225 million to implement parallel transaction execution compatible with Ethereum. The project focuses on DeFi and ensuring speed for trading.
Currently, promises to surpass Ethereum often appear naive. Its ecosystem has maintained leadership due to network effects, security, and the development of L2 solutions that have mitigated high fee issues.
TRON has surpassed Ethereum in one crucial metric — stablecoin transfer volumes. Sun created a cheap payment network for fiat alternatives, but it remains far from the concept of a decentralized "world computer."
According to Token Terminal, as of April 2026, the TRON network ranks first in revenue generated through transaction fees. This figure significantly outpaces Ethereum, totaling $3.3 billion.
Solana is the only blockchain that has managed to form its own independent ecosystem and a loyal community comparable to Ethereum. The blockchain is characterized by high speed, but the high hardware requirements for validators and technical failures still raise concerns.
Protocol fee revenues. Source: Token Terminal.
Most projects from 2019 to 2021 are technically diverse but financially weak:
- Cardano and Algorand continue to update their academic code but suffer from a significant lack of real users and liquidity;
- Avalanche and NEAR have faced outflows of speculative capital. During bull markets, these networks served as cheap alternatives for retail, but with the emergence of ultra-cheap Ethereum rollups, their value proposition has diluted. They are technically alive, forming corporate partnerships, but their market share is steadily declining;
- EOS and NEO, while trying to shift from a standstill, resemble relics of the past.
The new generation of developers is betting on extreme hardware optimization and parallel transaction execution. However, history shows that in the crypto industry, it is not the fastest technology that wins, but the one around which a strong social consensus forms. And so far, in this regard, Ethereum's base level remains the undisputed leader.