Ethereum Outlook 2035: Is ETH Too Big to Fail or Too Centralized to Last?

Charles Hoskinson, co-founder of Ethereum and now CEO of Input Output, has warned that Ethereum may not last the next 10 to 15 years. Hoskinson argued that Ethereum has become a “victim of its own success” and risks being outpaced by more adaptable blockchain systems.

Hoskinson says Ethereum risks becoming too centralized. As more liquidity and users cluster around permissioned systems, the openness that blockchains are meant to provide gets lost. He warned that this trend could push Ethereum toward reliance on a smaller set of gatekeepers, making it less resilient.

“That’s problematic because when you look at new ventures, new liquidity, the majority are outside of the Ethereum ecosystem,” he said in an

Bitcoin, according to Hoskinson, has demonstrated the ability to resist government control despite its proof-of-work system. Mining is dominated by large operators, but Bitcoin’s decentralized nature makes it hard for a single power to take over.

He believes Cardano shares this resilience because proof-of-stake allows the system to move across jurisdictions more easily.

Not entirely. Hoskinson noted that other platforms like Aptos and Sui, despite strong technology, are failing to win major adoption. In his view, this shows that existing ecosystems like Ethereum are already close to their limits, fighting over the same pool of users and liquidity.

“Ethereum does have some degree of resilience as well, with the way they’ve structured things. But you always have to be vigilant. Is the trend moving in a direction where inevitably centralization will happen?,” he asked.

Despite warnings from Cardano’s founder, some experts like Tom Lee remain optimistic about ETH. He sees Bitcoin’s main role as storing value, much like digital gold, while Ethereum is being built into Wall Street’s core infrastructure.

Lee compares the current moment to 1971, when finance shifted away from gold, calling it a turning point. He argues that tokenizing assets on Ethereum could be a huge long-term opportunity for the financial system.