Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) continues to reign as the world's top cryptocurrency, and it's not close. With a massive market cap of $1.3 trillion, Bitcoin is nearly four times larger than its next closest rival, Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH). In fact, Bitcoin now accounts for a whopping 57% of the market cap of the entire crypto market.

But a number of challengers are gaining on it, and the one that has the most upside potential over the next five years is Solana (CRYPTO: SOL). It currently ranks as the fifth-largest cryptocurrency with its nearly $75 billion market cap, and it could be poised for a major run over the next five years.

Can Solana topple Ethereum?

Solana is the primary blockchain competitor to Ethereum, which is currently the premier Layer 1 blockchain network in the world. As a result of rapid growth over the past few years, Solana now poses a serious challenge to Ethereum. In fact, many have dubbed Solana the "Ethereum killer" for its potential.

In large part, that has to do with Solana's superior performance. In terms of just about every important performance metric, Solana is head and shoulders above the competition. For example, Solana can process nearly 65,000 transactions per second. In comparison, Ethereum can handle only 30 transactions per second. In order to compensate for this deficiency, Ethereum uses a complex (and sometimes confusing) mix of blockchain scaling networks known as Layer 2 blockchains.

Top institutional investors are already starting to sit up and take notice. For example, in November 2023, Cathie Wood of Ark Invest extolled the virtues of Solana, noting that it has the potential to replace Ethereum one day as a result of being so much faster and more cost-effective. Over the next five years, the performance gap could widen even further, making Solana even more attractive to users, developers, and investors.

Case in point: Solana recently showcased a new blockchain innovation known as Firedancer that will theoretically enable it to process 1 million transactions per second. Ethereum has been talking about hitting this milestone for several years now, but it has never come anywhere close.

Solana's mobile growth

With its Solana Mobile initiative, which launched in June 2022, Solana has been laying the groundwork for even more growth over the next five years. Solana now offers two Web3 mobile devices -- the Saga and the Seeker -- that have been optimized for blockchain and crypto. These mobile devices promise to make the crypto user experience faster, better, and more streamlined.

Yes, right now, the audience for these mobile devices is limited. They appeal primarily to crypto enthusiasts, who use them to trade non-fungible tokens (NFTs) or swap meme coins. So Solana needs to come up with a "killer app" for these mobile devices that appeals to the average person.

If it can do this, Solana could see a huge boost in monthly active users. In fact, investment firm VanEck thinks that Solana might become the first blockchain to have a mobile app with over 100 million users.

How high can Solana go?

One year ago, VanEck put out a $3,211 price forecast for Solana for the year 2030. At the time, that represented a 10,600% increase in price. So that gives you an idea of just how high Solana might soar over the next few years. At that lofty price, Solana would have an implied market cap of more than $1.5 trillion. That's more than the current market cap of Bitcoin.

Of course, a lot needs to go right for Solana over the next five years. It needs to continue to gain on Ethereum, especially in key blockchain niches such as decentralized finance (DeFi). And it needs to come up with everyday, practical uses for its new mobile devices. If it can do all that, though, Solana might just make you forget all about Bitcoin.

Should you invest $1,000 in Solana right now?

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Dominic Basulto has positions in Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

This Cryptocurrency Could Be a Major Player by 2030 was originally published by The Motley Fool