## The Evolution of Public Blockchains: Why Are Multiple Chains Necessary?

There are thousands of public blockchains in the cryptocurrency world, each with different design philosophies and characteristics. Why has such diversity emerged despite dealing with the same digital assets? The answer lies in the fact that each blockchain aims to solve its own unique challenges.

### Foundations of Digital Assets: The Rise of Bitcoin

When discussing the history of cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin is an indispensable part. Created by the mysterious founder Satoshi Nakamoto, this system was more than just a transaction ledger; it was a proof of value transfer that does not require a centralized authority. Today, $BTC is the largest digital asset by market capitalization and is recognized by many investors as a store of value. As of January 19, 2026, Bitcoin is trading at $92.86K, and its importance remains unchanged.

Bitcoin’s security model is simple yet robust. However, its transaction per second (TPS) is only about 7, which became one of the reasons for the emergence of subsequent chains.

### The Smart Contract Revolution: The Significance of Ethereum

While Bitcoin was specialized in "digital money," Ethereum opened up new possibilities. With smart contract functionality, Ethereum evolved from a mere transaction network into a programmable computing platform.

On the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM), numerous tokens are issued following the ERC-20 standard. Projects like Chainlink, Tether (USDT), Maker (MKR), and others conform to this standard, building a rich ecosystem of DeFi, Dapps, DAOs, and more.

However, this prosperity has come with costs, such as network congestion leading to higher fees and processing speed issues. Ethereum’s TPS (about 15–20) has limitations in scalability. This problem has become a significant barrier for developers and users, creating a need for new solutions.

### Different Approaches to Scalability

#### Solana: The Challenge of High-Speed Processing

The first major answer to scalability issues is Solana. Developed by Anatoly Yakovenko, a former Qualcomm lead architect, this layer 1 chain adopts an innovative consensus mechanism called Proof-of-History (PoH).

Solana’s most notable feature is its processing speed. With an astonishing TPS of 65,000 transactions per second, it far surpasses Bitcoin and Ethereum. Additionally, transaction fees are minimal, making it highly attractive. Between 2021 and 2022, Solana rapidly gained traction, with many projects entering its ecosystem.

However, Solana’s native projects are not compatible with other blockchains, resulting in a relatively isolated ecosystem. As of January 19, 2026, $SOL is trading at $133.45.

#### Avalanche: A Design Focused on Interoperability

While Solana specializes in high-speed processing, Avalanche takes a different approach. Sometimes called an "Ethereum killer," Avalanche’s key feature is its inclusiveness with other blockchains.

Technically, Avalanche is not a single chain but consists of three independent chains: the P-Chain (for validation and staking), X-Chain (for asset management), and C-Chain (for smart contracts). These chains can communicate with each other, and their consensus mechanism based on Directed Acyclic Graph (DAG) enables high throughput and low latency.

### Layer 1 and Layer 2: Two Paths to Scaling

All the blockchains introduced so far are Layer 1 (base layer), but there are multiple ways to address scalability issues.

Layer 2 solutions are protocols built on top of the main chain. Examples include Plasma for Ethereum and the Lightning Network for Bitcoin. These are often called "off-chain" processing, reducing the load on the main chain while enabling fast transactions.

#### Polygon: A Practical Scaling Solution

Polygon (formerly known as MATIC) is particularly important as a scaling solution for Ethereum. By combining Plasma chain and sidechain technologies, it offloads the load from the Ethereum mainnet while maintaining compatibility with Ethereum.

In fact, Polygon has become one of the most widely adopted platforms among Ethereum scaling solutions, used by many projects.

### Centralized Platforms and Decentralized Chains

Meanwhile, an increasing number of major cryptocurrency exchanges are launching Layer 1 blockchains. These are often modified forks based on Ethereum, essentially clones of existing systems.

Such platform-based blockchains can offer low fees and high TPS because the number of network validators is limited, resulting in a relatively centralized structure. They are effective when prioritizing speed and low cost but have different characteristics in terms of decentralization.

### Summary: The Diversity of Public Blockchains

In the world of public blockchains, various designs coexist, each aiming to solve different challenges. Bitcoin’s immutability and security, Ethereum’s smart contract capabilities, Solana’s processing speed, Polygon’s scalability solutions—all demonstrate that blockchain technology is not a single "one-size-fits-all" solution but a set of options tailored to different use cases.

Currently, Ethereum is trading at $3.21K (as of January 19, 2026), maintaining its position as the second-largest public blockchain. Technological evolution continues, with each chain leveraging its unique features to shape the cryptocurrency ecosystem.