Do We Really Need This Many Layer 1s?

[Andrew]

Every month a new “Ethereum killer” pops up, only to fade into obscurity or pump on launch hype and disappear. Are we innovating, or just endlessly repeating the same narrative with different tickers?

 

[Akure]

It’s a pattern we’ve seen play out so many times that it almost feels like part of the cycle itself. Each new chain promises to fix the flaws of the last, often chasing speed, fees, or scalability, while the core challenges of adoption, decentralization, and meaningful utility remain unresolved. Maybe what we're witnessing isn't innovation for its own sake, but a reflection of the market's obsession with the idea of the next big thing, rather than steady, cumulative progress.

 

[Chicki Akiba]

Absolutely, it’s fascinating to watch the relentless wave of new projects aiming to topple Ethereum. Each one brings fresh ideas and sometimes truly innovative tech to the table. Even if many fade, the experimentation fuels the entire blockchain ecosystem, pushing boundaries and inspiring better solutions. It’s all part of a dynamic evolution, not just a rerun with new names. The future of decentralized platforms is being built right now, one ambitious project at a time!

 

[GIFZE]

Every month a new “Ethereum killer” pops up, only to fade into obscurity or pump on launch hype and disappear. Are we innovating, or just endlessly repeating the same narrative with different tickers?

Ethereum killers pop up like reality show contestants—flashy, dramatic, and forgotten by the finale while ETH just keeps running the game.

 

[Lotus]

Ethereum killers are just copy-paste scripts with fresh paint—same old hype cycle, zero innovation, and a graveyard full of forgotten promises.

 

[ELIZA]

Every “Ethereum killer” is just a recycled promise wearing a new ticker—same hype, same flop, zero real innovation.

 

[peterjohn]

It’s a fair observation. The space does seem to cycle through new L1 narratives regularly, with many projects promising to solve Ethereum’s limitations but struggling to maintain long-term traction. At the same time, some of these experiments do contribute incremental improvements or push certain ideas forward, even if they don’t dethrone Ethereum. It’s part of how an emerging technology ecosystem evolves, though the repetitive hype cycles can get exhausting.

New L1s pop up like they’ve got mainnet FOMO—“faster, cheaper, better… until next week!”
Still, even if they don’t flip ETH, at least they keep the devs caffeinated and the memes spicy