Blockchains comparison: what is the actual difference? Cardano, Elrond, Polkadot and Ethereum 2.0

There has been an important number of blockchain launches lately, all claiming to be THE blockchain. Although they are fundamentally different, they all share the same aim which is to drive the decentralized finance (DeFi) revolution. It is important to note that there cannot be only one blockchain simply because of the scalability issues this unique blockchain would face. That is why it is easy to imagine multiple blockchains working towards finances in this much-awaited decentralised way. 

Banks are scared so, should we? 

They should not because decentralisation doesn’t mean their end. A fact is that the second generation of blockchains doesn’t allow much flexibility however the third generation will. The first one of this 3rd blockchain revolution is the Cardano. 

Indeed, Cardano has developed its blockchain in two inbuilt layers allowing more sets of rules to be deployed within the smart contracts. Therefore a contract can force the sender to reveal his identity and its origin or if for some reasons the origin of a transaction must be hidden that specific contract will be executed confidentially. This specific feature is exactly what banks needed to enter the blockchain world. 

Banks will remain banks - necessary for any government. However, as expected technology advances cannot be avoided and they need to keep up. Before Cardano, the second generation of blockchain was executing contracts without metadata, which was a serious problem for security and government-based institutions. This probably explained why banks in general were resounding to engage with the crypto-verse. 

Cryptocurrency ≠ Blockchain 

Many mistakes the cryptocurrencies with the blockchain even though they are intertwined they are not the same. The blockchain is the technology: the ledger of transactions stocked in blocks and the cryptocurrencies is the currencies flowing through the blockchain. 

Understanding and believing in the technology of blockchain can be expressed through cryptocurrencies by buying/investing in it. It can be assimilated to supporting a company with possible ROI. 

Although Bitcoin is a bit different it is the blockchain and cryptocurrency that opened the door. Believing in blockchain can be compared to investing in Bitcoin aka “the digital gold”. Bitcoin is the entrance into crypto, you make mistakes and learn from them and then you move into other cryptocurrencies after research. It is a bit like buying a phone: you probably start with a Nokia 3310 before moving to the other brands and models, you always need to have an entrance door to be able to explore the room. 

Summary 

Blockchains must coexist together 

Many projects are planned to be built on these blockchains and even white-label exchange software companies are looking to add them to their services. One of the white label companies I support and tried myself is the one of HollaEx. Their DIY solution allows you to deploy a crypto exchange in less than 1 hour on the Ethereum blockchain. They have communicated that no changes or issues would be seen when Ethereum 1.0 will be moved to Ethereum 2.0. They also added a new blockchain to their services, the TRON blockchain for deployment. Another interesting piece written back in 2019 was this thought provoking article on the different blockchain available at the time with their defining features. It is impressive to see how these blockchains in the article have evolved in such a short time, and how many of these blockchains are long gone. 

All of these blockchains have different aims and that is to remember

• Cardano worked on the interoperability but also towards the confidentiality concern for banks and institutions to be able to use the blockchain 

• Elrond is looking to onboard 1 billion users according to the CEO on an interview in Feb 2021 showing his aim to be the transactional preferred blockchain for everyone 

• Ethereum 2.0 is updating to keep its leading position 

• Polkadot worked on the interoperability before the scalability answering properly to their nickname the mother of all blockchain and allowing the blockchain to communicate together