Ethereum in 2035: envisioning the next decade for the Evolving network

As Ethereum celebrates its 10th anniversary, leaders from key companies share their insights into the network’s potential trajectory over the next decade.

To truly understand Ethereum’s future, it’s essential to consider the vision of its creator, Vitalik Buterin, who saw blockchains as more than just a foundation for digital money. He envisioned them as tools for identity, coordination, public trust, and more. This adaptive nature continues to define the network today.

So, what might the next decade hold for Ethereum?

Consensys: Ethereum as “trustware”

Consensys, founded by Ethereum co-creator Joseph Lubin, has played a vital role in shaping the network’s infrastructure. According to Mallesh Pai, chief economist at Consensys, Ethereum is poised to evolve from the leading smart contract platform to the base layer of the future global economy. This growth will be driven by the digitization of assets, starting with stablecoins and moving up the risk stack. As assets migrate onchain, commerce will follow, but this progress depends on the contributions of current builders and a new wave of institutional and commercial participants.

GameSquare’s bet on Ethereum

While Bitcoin is often favored by publicly traded companies, GameSquare, a digital media and technology company, is betting on Ethereum’s long-term future. CEO Justin Kenna believes that Ethereum is the most credible long-term digital asset aligned with the internet’s direction. Despite the emergence of chains with lower fees or faster speeds, Ethereum’s community and composability give it a distinct advantage. Kenna envisions Ethereum becoming the financial and cultural backbone of the internet, powering everything from global payments and asset management to entertainment IP, gaming economies, and digital identity.

RedStone: real-world data and DeFi’s future

RedStone, a modular blockchain oracle network, provides real-world data to smart contracts. Co-founder Marcin Kaźmierczak sees Ethereum expanding beyond DeFi and becoming the foundational layer for institutional finance and real-world asset tokenization. He anticipates significant improvements in scalability through continued Layer-2 development and new Virtual Machines, making Ethereum more accessible to developers. Kaźmierczak predicts a seamless integration of blockchain technology, where users interact with Ethereum-powered services without even realizing it, much like they do with AI today.

Optimism: scaling Ethereum for the enterprise era

Optimism, a Layer-2 built on Ethereum, envisions the next decade as a period of enterprise migration. Sam McIngvale, head of product at OP Labs, believes that every large enterprise will move onchain and vertically integrate into its own infrastructure on top of Ethereum. With increasing regulatory clarity, institutions, payments firms, and fintechs are beginning to build on Ethereum, requiring strong, secure, yet flexible infrastructure.

Coinbase: the power of builders

For Nemil Dalal, head of the developer platform at Coinbase, Ethereum’s long-term success depends on usability and its builder community. He envisions Ethereum as the foundation for entirely new use cases, such as AI agents transacting on our behalf, richer onchain social communities, and gaming. Dalal’s confidence stems from the Ethereum community’s commitment to experimentation and delivery, which will continue to drive the network forward.

From experiment to infrastructure

While there are diverse visions for Ethereum’s future, a common theme emerges: Ethereum is evolving from a platform for smart contracts to a foundational layer for real-world assets, enterprise systems, and everyday digital interactions. If the first decade was about exploring the possibilities of blockchains, the next decade may be about Ethereum quietly becoming an essential part of how the world operates.