BlockDAG, a new EVM-compatible blockchain, is positioning itself as a high-throughput alternative to established networks like Ethereum and Avalanche. The project claims a Layer-1 transaction throughput of 1,400 transactions per second (TPS), a figure that directly contrasts with Ethereum's base-layer limit of 15-30 TPS and challenges the modular scaling approach of Avalanche.
Ethereum's dominance in the EVM ecosystem is undisputed, hosting thousands of dApps and supported by over 900,000 validator nodes. However, its base-layer performance ceiling has pushed scaling efforts to Layer-2 rollups like Optimism and Arbitrum, introducing fragmentation, bridging complexity, and distributed liquidity. Despite upgrades like the Merge, congestion and high gas fees, which can spike above $20, remain structural constraints.
BlockDAG's architecture utilizes a Directed Acyclic Graph (DAG) structure to process blocks in parallel, aiming to deliver high throughput natively at Layer 1 while maintaining full EVM compatibility. This design promises developers a familiar environment without reliance on external scaling layers, potentially benefiting applications in gaming, DeFi, and real-time finance that require consistent speed and cost predictability.
The project has garnered significant investor interest, raising over $442 million in its ongoing presale. The current batch price is $0.003, with the presale officially scheduled to conclude on January 26. This fundraising positions BlockDAG among the top presales of the current cycle.
In contrast, the news also analyzes Avalanche's scaling model, which relies on customizable, isolated subnets to achieve high TPS. While powerful, this modular approach can create barriers to seamless liquidity and composability across the ecosystem. BlockDAG's proposition is a unified, high-throughput base layer that avoids this fragmentation.
The narrative frames BlockDAG not as a replacement for Ethereum, which remains the security and settlement anchor, but as an evolutionary alternative for execution-heavy workloads. By integrating speed directly into the protocol design, BlockDAG seeks to reframe scalability as a native feature rather than an external dependency.
