Ethereum vs Solana vs Avax vs Polkadot vs Cardano - or any others (hbar, icp, etc.) - what’s your favorite L1 and why?

Yes, ETH is probably the best, but it’s more expensive. The cheapest L1 compared with the highest potential is SOL.

First of all, to clarify my position, I am a huge Cardano fan (it is the main chain that I use), but not a maxi. I found beautiful things in other Layer 1's too, and I believe that every major one has made some contribution to the space.

So, why Cardano?

Let's begin with the basics. There isn't a blockchain out there that has solved the "Blockchain Trilemma", namely Decentralization, Security, Scalability. Cardano gave from its beginning weight to the first two.

It is one of the most Decentralized PoS coins, with over 2000 Stake Pool Operators (SPOs) running the chain. Also, it had a very fair initial distribution, with smaller percentages of the initial allocation going to the founders, compared with newer Layer 1's (Solana, Luna, etc.). So, it has great tokenomics, very low, and decreasing, inflation (~3-3.5%), and a max-ADA supply, capped at 45 billion ADA with over 35 billion, now in circulation.

Also, it is written in Haskell, and its science is peer-reviewed with a lot of scientific papers "backing" the science that has been applied to the chain. This is a double-edged sword. Haskell is an extremely difficult Programming Language, but also highly secure. So, it might scare some developers, but if you are going to build the financial system of the future, you want the core foundation of this system to be trusted, even if it is a little harder to build on it.

But, this is changing fast. Despite the core Cardano code being in Haskell, every Dapp that is written in it, can be (especially in the future) written with more intuitive to developers tools. For example, Aiken, a smart contract language on Cardano, based on Plutus (the smart contract language of Cardano), has made the building experience much better for devs. The same can be said for Marlowe, a smart contract language (developed by IOG), that aims to help write financial smart contracts, with very little programming experience. Also, Plutus language is 2 years old, so it is evolving. The tools and documentation for it are getting better, and easier for devs, day by day.

Furthermore, the "peer-reviewed" approach, is similar in vision. If your science has been proven theoretically by academics, you have a better chance to build something in secure foundations.

Also, on the Security side, it has something that neither Ethereum, or Solana has, and it is making it extremely safe to use, for end users. The Cardano tokens, and NFTs, are native assets, not smart contracts. If I transfer to you a "scam" token or NFT, and you interact with it, in Ethereum or Solana, it could drain your wallet. This is not a thing on Cardano. In ETH, when you want to swap a token, many times you give "unlimited access" to the Dapp, for this particular token. If the smart contract you signed could be exploited, or the site you visited isn't genuine, you might lose funds. On Solana, the smart contracts are "blind" on explorers, so you can't be sure what you are signing. If you want a blockchain to be trusted by billions of users, for every range of expertise and tech knowledge, this is not something that should considered normal. Cardano fixes this.

I should add that, its staking mechanism is the best (and most secure) in the space. Your ADA never leave your wallet, they aren't locked, there is no slashing, no dangers. In fact, if you ever deposit more ADA in your wallet they are auto-staked.

So, has it solved the trilemma? No.

The only thing that Cardano hasn't solved (yet) is scalability. It has low (not Solana low, but ~6 cents low) deterministic fees, but with the Vasil HFC a little over a year ago, has been more faster and efficient. Also, the scalability theme hasn't been abandoned, but it is evolving with Layer 2's like Hydra (something like Bitcoin's lightning network) and the next step of its Consensus Mechanism upgrade, Ouroboros Leios, which will include Input Endorsers, which will make the chain really ready to invite millions of users.

Also, having the e-UTXO model (based on Bitcoin's UTXO one), you can transfer a lot of Cardano Native Assets (ADA, tokens, and NFTs) with one transaction. If you have 1000 NFTs in one wallet (not in a smart contract) on Ethereum, you should initialize 1000 different txs and pay fees for every one of them. Also, if the e-UTXO system is used correctly it can help improve the scalability issue, because you can basically have transactions in transactions.

Simultaneously, Cardano's roadmap is on the Governance (the Voltaire) era. The CIP-1694, which will enable it, will pass in 2024, making it one of the most decentralized chains, because everyone could vote on protocol changes. Don't forget that Cardano has a huge treasury (a portion of the staking rewards go there), that is being used by the Project Catalyst to fund specific projects, that are being approved by Cardano holders (1 ADA = 1 vote).

So, especially now, with the era of Voltaire upon us, this treasury could really be utilized in the most democratic and decentralized way. There are not many chains that can say that.

Furthermore, lately, it has been introduced the new step in Cardano's interoperability journey which is "Partner Chains". With the magic of some Polkadot's technology, other chains, that will act a little like sidechains, will be introduced on Cardano. Also, some SPOs that will want to secure those partner chains, will get back token rewards from them, so ADA stakers, will get more tokens as staking rewards upon their normally ADA staking rewards. This makes the project viable long-term, because the ADA staking rewards are diminishing every epoch, so the SPOs will need these extra tokens to survive and to help secure the network.

Lastly, I want to talk about the community. Cardano Community is one of the biggest in the space. Despite not much marketing for Crypto media, it is the heart behind Cardano. Every Cardano Summit has people from around the world. You can see how beautiful there is, if you dive deep inside it. Yes, there are some maxis (unfortunately every chain has some), but if you are patient to look, you can see how really diverse and lively it is.

I have forgotten TONS of things, that make Cardano amazing. It doesn't have to be for everyone, and for you specifically. But, in a blockchain space that has forgot a little about its Decentralization routes, Cardano is a very welcoming voice in the space.

Have a nice day!

DOT and MATIC

I mean ETH is way better than those. And it’s really not close

Mine is Solana. I know it’s new, but it has so much potential.

Ethereum

However, I feel like, now that CZ is out of Binance, there could be a lot of development on the Binance Smart Chain now

Avax has best tech - but tech is meme in crypto, so …