Exploring Decentralized Blockchain Technologies: Analyzing Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana

Abstract

This abstract delves into the comparative analysis of Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana, three prominent blockchain platforms renowned for their approaches to decentralization. Bitcoin, introduced in 2008, pioneered decentralized digital currency through its Proof-of-Work (PoW) consensus mechanism, emphasizing security and immutability despite scalability challenges. Ethereum, launched in 2015, expanded blockchain capabilities with smart contracts, enabling decentralized applications (dApps) and catalyzing the growth of decentralized finance (DeFi) and non-fungible tokens (NFTs). Its evolution to Ethereum 2.0, incorporating Proof-of-Stake (PoS), seeks to enhance scalability and sustainability. Solana, introduced in 2020, innovates with Proof-of-History (PoH) and PoS to achieve high transaction throughput and low latency, making it suitable for real-time applications and enterprise solutions. This study examines the technical architectures, decentralization strategies, and challenges faced by each platform, providing insights into their roles in advancing decentralized technologies and their potential impacts on future digital economies and governance models.