Like most technologies, crypto has improved over time, with newer blockchains boasting technical advantages over their predecessors. Next-generation platforms like Cardano (ADA -3.63%) and Solana (SOL -5.22%) are part of this progression and could make excellent investments over the coming decades. Let's dig deeper.
1. Cardano
Cardano is a network designed to host decentralized applications (dApps), which are programs that use self-executing smart contracts to offer services on the blockchain. Cardano already offers significant advantages over the current market leader, Ethereum. But its development roadmap could be a game-changer.
Image source: Getty Images.
Capable of handling 250 transactions per second (TPS), Cardano is significantly faster than Ethereum, which has a TPS of 15. But Cardano's developers still have more tricks up their sleeve.
According to Input Output Hong Kong (IOHK), the team behind Cardano, the platform plans to implement an upgrade called Hydra, which aims to boost Cardano's scalability by processing some transactions outside of the blockchain. IOHK suggests these changes could send Cardano's transaction capacity as high as one million per second. But that is an aspirational target, and they plan to grow the blockchain's capacity based on demand.
Cardano's developers have a track record of success. In 2021, IOHK partnered with the Ethiopian government to implement a blockchain-based educational ID system to monitor grades and school performance. Said to be the biggest blockchain deployment in the world, this project is a massive vote of confidence in the abilities of Cardano's developers.
2. Solana
Unlike many of its rivals, Solana doesn't have to wait for an update to boast lightning-fast speed and scalability. Capable of handling 50,000 TPS, it leaves both Cardano and Ethereum in the dust. But its developers aren't resting on their laurels either. A pivot to real-world fintech could help unlock the next leg of long-term growth.
While blockchain technology has come a long way since Bitcoin entered the picture in 2009, it is still a long way away from widespread, real-world adoption. Solana is working to change that with a new fintech project called Solana Pay, which could help people use cryptocurrency for more everyday financial transactions.
Solana Pay is a protocol designed to allow developers to customize crypto-based payment infrastructure that works with Solana's native token, SOL, and multiple other cryptocurrencies. Solana wouldn't be the first to synergize fintech with blockchain technology, but it has a massive advantage because of industry-leading speed and low fees (Solana has an average fee of $0.00025 per transaction compared to roughly $3.9 for Ethereum, according to data from YCharts).
With breakneck speeds, low fees, and an active development team, Solana is an ideal cryptocurrency for investors who want to stay ahead of the increasingly stiff competition.
The crypto arms race
The cryptocurrency market is in an arms race as platforms try to one-up each other with superior speed and scalability. And while Cardano and Solana are cutting-edge by today's standards, their long-term edge will come from their development teams, which both have a track record of improving their networks to keep the competition at bay.
