Roger Ver, an early adopter of Bitcoin and advocate for Bitcoin Cash, recently suggested that Ethereum, not Bitcoin, will likely be responsible for driving the bulk of new users towards cryptocurrency. Speaking on a recent episode of the Show Me The Crypto podcast, Ver commented on the scaling issues faced by Ethereum and the rise of “clones” popping up in its wake, but ultimately praised the Ethereum ecosystem and its potential for driving widespread adoption.
Ver highlighted the rise of Ethereum Virtual Machine-compatible (EVM) blockchains and layer-2 scaling solutions, such as Polygon (MATIC), as significant developments that can help reduce load on the main Ethereum chain. He believes that despite not having the largest market capitalization compared to Bitcoin, Ethereum is the front-runner in terms of pushing for global adoption.
Ver attributed Ethereum’s success to its ability to overcome the scaling limitations that Bitcoin faces. He explained that disagreements over the use of smart contracts and moving away from the idea of blockchain being used purely as currency or stores of value eventually led Vitalik Buterin, Ethereum’s co-founder, to create Ethereum. In this regard, Ver believes that the “civil war” between Buterin and Bitcoin core developers in the early days of Bitcoin resulted in the creation of Ethereum and is responsible for much of Ethereum’s subsequent success.
While Ver believes that Ethereum is the future of crypto adoption, he also criticized certain aspects of the crypto industry. Ver called the recent Ledger debate “disappointing” and argued that the ethos of crypto is centered on having full control of your assets at all times. While he is fine with people choosing to store their encrypted seed phrase with external custodians, he believes that retaining full control of assets is what makes cryptocurrency unique.
Last January, Ver was sued by a trading unit of the crypto lending firm Genesis for failing to pay some $20.8 million in unsettled crypto options. Ver claimed that he had “sufficient funds” to pay the outstanding sum, but argued that because Genesis was no longer solvent, he was not legally required to uphold his end of the deal. Similarly, last year, Ver was accused of defaulting on a debt to CoinFLEX. CoinFLEX CEO Mark Lamb claimed Ver owed the firm $47 million in USD Coin (USDC), and was bound by a written contract. In both instances, Ver denied the allegations.
In the end, it remains to be seen whether Ethereum will indeed be responsible for driving the bulk of new users towards cryptocurrency. However, Ver’s position on Ethereum’s potential for driving adoption is worth considering, given his notable track record in the crypto industry. Regardless of whether Ver’s prediction comes to pass, the continued development of the Ethereum ecosystem and the rise of scaling solutions like Layer-2 will likely influence the future of cryptocurrency adoption. Adopting these new technologies will ease congestion on main chains and provide much-needed scalability to handle increased demand, eventually leading to more adoption and wider use cases.
