Amid a surge in investment in blockchain infrastructure, a core debate has emerged around Layer 2 scalability versus a complete overhaul of Layer 1 infrastructure. Kaspa founder Yonatan Sompolinsky believes that modularity will fragment the ecosystem and advocates for its network’s parallel BlockDAG architecture, which can complete in seconds what Bitcoin takes an hour to do. Alephium Chief Operating Officer Maud Bannwart criticized repetitive Layer 1 designs and called for support of technologies that can truly address adoption barriers. Meanwhile, Casper Networks’ Michael Stewart emphasized that instant transaction confirmation and native upgradable smart contracts are crucial for institutional certainty, going beyond the rigid immutability of cryptocurrencies.
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What are the key concerns of blockchain executives in 2026?
Amid a surge in investment in blockchain infrastructure, a core debate has emerged around Layer 2 scalability versus a complete overhaul of Layer 1 infrastructure. Kaspa founder Yonatan Sompolinsky believes that modularity will fragment the ecosystem and advocates for its network’s parallel BlockDAG architecture, which can complete in seconds what Bitcoin takes an hour to do. Alephium Chief Operating Officer Maud Bannwart criticized repetitive Layer 1 designs and called for support of technologies that can truly address adoption barriers. Meanwhile, Casper Networks’ Michael Stewart emphasized that instant transaction confirmation and native upgradable smart contracts are crucial for institutional certainty, going beyond the rigid immutability of cryptocurrencies.