Skip to navigationSkip to main contentSkip to right columnEmma Newbery, The Motley FoolFri, June 26, 2026 at 4:47 AM GMT+2 4 min readEthereum (CRYPTO: ETH) is barely holding a torch to its big brother Bitcoin these days, but both have a place in a balanced crypto portfolio. Bitcoin accounts for about 60% of the total crypto market cap, compared with Ethereum's 9%. The latter has fallen over 30% in the past year to trade at around $1,665 at the time of writing (June 24).Ethereum pioneered smart contracts, which are the secret sauce behind decentralized finance, stablecoins, and real-world asset tokenization. It remains a dominant force, but it faces competition from newer, more efficient cryptocurrencies as well as traditional financial organizations that may opt to build their own private blockchains.Missed Nvidia in 2009? This Rare Signal Is Flashing Again. In 2009, a "Double Down" signal flashed for a little-known chipmaker called Nvidia. For the first time in years, that same "Total Conviction" signal is flashing for a company 1/100th the size of Nvidia. Continue »However, the crypto's main challenges right now are internal, not external. Another senior figure just left the Ethereum Foundation, and its community is questioning the chain's economics. Both are factors to keep on your radar, but I still think ongoing blockchain adoption could mean Ethereum will soar in the coming five to ten years. Here's why: 1. It has more utility than BitcoinEthereum faces competition from Bitcoin above it, and a pack of smaller smart-contract cryptos below. Bitcoin, which was designed to eliminate intermediaries from financial transactions, is attracting more institutional funds. I can understand why its store-of-value narrative appeals to investors, but let's face it: Bitcoin is somewhat of a one-trick pony.In contrast, Ethereum is a decentralized ecosystem that's home to almost 2,000 applications and is used by thousands of full-time developers. It is a platform where people can create decentralized applications (dApps), stablecoins, games, tokenized assets, and more.Ethereum is where the party's at. Smart contracts have underpinned every leap in blockchain adoption and real-world utility, and Ethereum is the biggest and most used smart-contract platform.Image source: Getty Images.2. Utility and reliability are a winning comboPeople have been predicting the digital token's demise for as long as I've been writing about cryptocurrencies. As far back as 2017, crypto insiders said that newer, faster cryptocurrencies -- so-called "Ethereum killers" -- would take their place. Turns out its first-mover advantage was hard to shake -- it still accounts for over half the money on decentralized finance (DeFi) platforms.Terms and Privacy PolicyEU DSA contactPrivacy & Cookie SettingsMore Info