Before you build your startup on Ethereum, consider the options

Before you build your blockchain startup atop Ethereum, which is what most people in cryptoworld do, take a step back and survey the field. With a little comparison shopping and a lot of hustle, you can secure a blockbuster deal with one of Ethereum’s rising challengers.

Blockchain platforms like Stellar, NEO, DragonChain, Zen Protocol, and dozens of others have unique technical advantages that may be a better fit for your project than Ethereum. And these challengers are flush with cash, hungry for startups like yours to join their ecosystem, and willing to cut deals to make that happen.

Ethereum was a revelation when it was released in 2015, enabling anyone to build complex, decentralized smart contracts. But its one-size-fits-all approach and recent growing pains have made it vulnerable. Cyrus Khajvandi, COO and cofounder of Mobius, took a hard look at Ethereum for his project and doesn’t mince words: “It’s too slow, too insecure, and too expensive to scale and handle real applications,” he told me. “Not many people notice this yet because many people are trapped by group-think.”