Technological Advancements in Decentralized Blockchains: A Study of Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana

Abstract

This abstract investigates the technological advancements and unique features of three prominent blockchain platforms: Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana. Bitcoin, introduced in 2008, pioneered decentralized digital currency through its Proof-of-Work (PoW) consensus mechanism, ensuring robust security despite scalability challenges and energy consumption concerns. Ethereum, launched in 2015, expanded blockchain capabilities with smart contracts, enabling decentralized applications (dApps) and pioneering decentralized finance (DeFi). Its ongoing transition to Ethereum 2.0, adopting Proof-of-Stake (PoS) and shard chains, aims to enhance scalability and sustainability while reducing environmental impact. Solana, introduced in 2020, employs a novel combination of Proof-of-History (PoH) and PoS to achieve high throughput and low latency, addressing scalability issues and facilitating real-time decentralized applications. This comparative study examines their technical architectures, consensus mechanisms, and the challenges each platform faces, offering insights into their contributions to decentralized technologies and their potential for future advancements in digital economies and governance models.