What the Next 4 Years of Ethereum Look Like

The most recent quarterly report from Dapp.com shows that while ethereum is still the first choice for developers, other decentralized application platforms such as Tron and EOS surpass ethereum in the number of active dapp users.

Both proof-of-stake and scaling are bundled into an ambitious upgrade called ethereum 2.0 that many, not just Conner, envision to be completed in the next four years of ethereum's existence.

"I believe that ethereum will achieve the original 'world computer' vision within the next four years because Ethereum 2.0 will have completed its roll-out. We will have mature scaling solutions and we will have proper privacy solutions."

At the same time, it's not just core bottlenecks in the technology limiting transaction throughput and efficiency that experts say will need to be resolved about ethereum in coming years.

Others both within and outside of the ethereum community say in the next four years, ethereum will also have to overcome challenges associated with its monetary identity.

To this, Ryan Sean Adams, founder of another crypto investment firm called Mythos Capital, sees ethereum establishing itself as a digital currency in four years time.

"I honestly believe that even if Ethereum 2.0 is significantly delayed, what we have right now is good enough for proper Decentralized Finance in the next three or four years. I expect more companies paying their employees streaming salaries in DAI. I also expect the first big DeFi hack to happen soon, and this'll be something to watch out for."

On the flip side, major investors in ethereum say they aren't worried about how the platform will transform in the next few years.

On the contrary, progress in the last four years of ethereum's existence has only proven to cement the technology's lead. "Ethereum has progressed significantly in making it easier for developers to build," said Scalar Capital founder Linda Xie.

These assets will continue to snowball in popularity and generate even greater value for the ethereum platform in future years, says Adams.