Cardano, Solana and Polkadot compete for dominance ahead of Ethereum's ETH2 upgrade

• Ethereum challenges Bitcoin's dominance as cryptocurrency market capitalization crosses $2 trillion for first time since May.
• Cardano is hot on Ethereum's tail and prepares for smart contract launch, ADA price rallies to $2.
• Proponents claim Solana and Polkadot are more technologically advanced than rival Ethereum

The non-fungible token (NFT) landscape is currently dominated by Ethereum, and it is likely that NFT applications migrate from the mainnet to layer-2 solutions. Ethereum killers are competing for a bigger share of the NFT market.

Ethereum rallies ahead of major upgrade, rival blockchains compete for dominance

The second largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization soars as another $500 billion is added to the cryptocurrency market’s total capitalization. Bitcoin and Ethereum currently dominate the crypto market, however, this is set to change with fierce competition from “Ethereum killer” rival blockchains like Cardano (ADA), Solana (SOL) and Polkadot (DOT). 

Traders are eagerly waiting for ETH2, a set of interconnected upgrades that will make Ethereum more scalable and secure. The altcoin’s price rally started ahead of the London hardfork, and ETH has consistently posted gains since then. 

Currently, ETH price is up 14.4% in the past seven days and is primed to retest all-time highs. 

Coinbase’s second quarter  earnings report noted that Ethereum’s trading volume crossed Bitcoin’s in Q2 2021. Analysts consider this the first sign of an upcoming “flippening” – the expected time when Ethereum or another cryptocurrency becomes more valuable than Bitcoin. With the Bitcoin price rangebound below $46,000, ETH is more likely to replace BTC as the number one cryptocurrency by market capitalization.

Ryan Todd, a research analyst at The Block, tweeted:

On its road to dominance in the crypto market, Ethereum faces stiff competition from rivals Cardano , Solana and Polkadot . 

ADA, SOL and DOT are rallying ahead of the ETH2 upgrade. The altcoins are eyeing higher DeFi and NFT market share as Ethereum makes the move to mainnet 2.0. 

The NFT landscape has been dominated by Ethereum since its inception in 2014. However, now it is likely that many NFT applications will transition from Ethereum mainnet onto Layer-2 solutions or test out other blockchains that support specific applications. 

NFTs are primarily created and transferred at the Ethereum Layer-1 or Layer-2 (scaling or side chain) level. The challenge arises in the application layer that is consumer-facing and requires a unique utility proposition for users. This is where ADA, SOL and DOT can capitalize on NFTs for gaining market share. 

Cardano is Ethereum's closest competitor, and it has noted a price rise of 8.8% in the past 24 hours. 

The crypto created by Ethereum’s co-founder Charles Hoskinson is currently trading at $1.97. Analysts are expecting ADA price to surge past the $2 level. 

Another ETH rival, Polkadot currently ranks ninth in terms of market capitalization and has posted 16.4% in weekly gains. With the ETH2 upgrade inching closer, Polkadot has received more attention from traders since the altcoin operates on “parachains” similar to what Ethereum aims to achieve by sharding (reducing network congestion by creating new chains on the network). 

Analysts suggest that DOT is attempting a break out but currently has limited upside. 

Technologically superior to Ethereum, Solana provides scalable infrastructure to apps on its blockchain. SOL is trading at $43.72 and is likely to break into a 160% rally, based on this analysis.