Nine years ago, in 2015, Vitalik Buterin and a team of visionary developers introduced the concept of smart contracts over the Ethereum network. This innovative step changed the blockchain landscape forever and made it possible to develop decentralized applications (dApps) on the Ethereum platform.

Unlike Bitcoin that initially functioned solely as a digital currency, Ethereum was designed as a versatile and programmable blockchain. This enabled developers to create and distribute a wide range of dApps without being limited to financial transactions.

Over the last nine years, Ethereum has grown from this ambitious project idea to become one of the cornerstones of the crypto ecosystem. It has influenced countless innovations in finance, supply chain management, gaming, and many other fields.

Ethereum has fostered a vibrant community of developers, entrepreneurs, and enthusiasts who continue to push the boundaries of blockchain technology.

To commemorate this important milestone, we spoke with several key executives in the Ethereum ecosystem, and they shared nine key insights about Ethereum’s past successes, current challenges, and future potential.

Ethereum is a prime example of how, as the largest blockchain with a total value locked (TVL) of approximately $60 billion, it must constantly evolve to scale and accommodate current activity.

Dominic Schwenter, chief operating officer of Layer-2 platform Lisk, emphasized that despite the network’s efforts to reduce fees over the years, these fees pose a major problem for Ethereum’s scalability in emerging markets.

Schwenter stated that with improvements in L2 solutions, Ethereum can become the “cornerstone of the global digital economy” and provide significant benefits in these regions. He said that both Ethereum and L2 addresses have increased by 127% in the last year, indicating increased activity.

This, if given the right attention, could translate into the necessary improvements Schwenter noted. He also highlighted the benefits of real-world asset (RWA) tokenization in emerging markets.

Amanda Cassatt, founder and CEO of Serotonin, evaluated the role of stablecoins in Ethereum’s goal of “banking the unbanked”. She observed that stablecoins are playing important roles in facilitating daily transactions in emerging markets such as the Philippines.

Cassatt stated that stablecoins “make a lot of sense” and predicted that they will become “even more important” in the future. She noted Ethereum’s role in driving institutional crypto adoption and noted the shift from private blockchains to public blockchains. He also highlighted the importance of investing in assets, such as the launch of the ETH ETF on July 23.

Caldera co-founder and CEO Matt Katz observed that Ethereum has evolved from an application development platform into a robust settlement and data access layer for many rollups. Katz noted that these scaling advances will open the doors for mass-market applications such as decentralized physical infrastructure networks (DePIN), gaming and social platforms.

Karl Floersch, co-founder of Optimism and CEO of OP Labs, emphasized the importance of advancing open source standards and public goods. Floersch stated that there is too much “zero-sum” competition in the current market and that programs such as economic adjustment and retroactive public goods funding are necessary to keep the vision of a decentralized internet alive.

Wes Levitt, head of strategy at Theta Labs, stated that Ethereum is in a critical period and is competing with other Layer 1 blockchains such as Solana. Levitt thinks Ethereum’s ability to maintain its dominance in market cap will be critical in solidifying its position in the crypto ecosystem, especially with the launch of new ETFs.