BlackRock Veteran: "Solana (SOL) superior to Ethereum (ETH)? Nonsense"

▲ Solana (SOL), Ethereum (ETH)

The debate over the dominance of Ethereum (ETH) and Solana (SOL) has turned into a battle over the number of validators. Joseph Chalom, a Blackrock alumnus, directly refuted the claim of Solana's superiority, citing Ethereum's base of over 900,000 validators and over 1 million developers.

According to cryptocurrency media outlet Bitcoin.com on July 3 (local time), Joseph Chalom, co-CEO of Sharplink, dismissed claims of cultural problems within Ethereum. He emphasized that Ethereum's competitiveness comes from the scale of its participants and its decentralization, rather than transaction speed or fees.

Chalom stated, “Ethereum has 1 million contributors and 1 million validators.” He added, “Solana has fewer than 800 validators, and 92% run on a single client.” He remarked, “There's a perspective that Ethereum lacks a narrative, but we need to look at the scoreboard again.”

The numbers also supported Chalom's argument. According to data from Electric Capital, a cumulative total of 1,012,824 developers have contributed code to Ethereum. Approximately 232,000 developers have been active in the last 12 months. Ethereum validators are counted at over 900,000.

In contrast, Solana's validator count has decreased from 2,500 to around 800 in approximately three years. The reduction rate is about 68%. NewsBitcoin reported that Solana's validator count decreased after it introduced a cleanup procedure in 2025 to remove nodes with low performance or insufficient contributions. Supporters view this as quality improvement. Critics see it as an already small validator base becoming even thinner.

Chalom believes institutional investors highly value Ethereum's decentralization and neutrality. This is because it reduces the risk of a single operator, client, or foundation dominating the network. He said Ethereum “has become the fundamental operating system for programmable finance and internet-based capital formation.” This assessment aligns with Sharplink's holding strategy. As of the end of June, Sharplink is known to hold 886,725 ETH.

However, the debate is not over. Even within the Ethereum camp, there have been criticisms of a lack of a clear value narrative to explain to investors. The Solana camp argues that its faster and lighter network is suitable for consumer apps and high-frequency transactions. Ultimately, if institutional tokenization and stablecoin activity continue to flock to Ethereum, Chalom's logic gains strength. Conversely, if Solana's speed attracts more users and developers, the weight of the validator count debate may weaken.

[Article Key Summary]

-Joseph Chalom refuted the claim of Solana's superiority, citing Ethereum's base of over 900,000 validators and over 1 million developers.

-Solana's validator count decreased from 2,500 to around 800 in approximately three years, and it was pointed out that 92% operate on a single client.

-Sharplink holds 886,725 ETH, revealing its judgment that institutional demand places importance on Ethereum's decentralization and neutrality.

*Disclaimer: This article is for investment reference only, and we are not responsible for any investment losses based on it. The content should be interpreted for informational purposes only.*