---
title: "Multicoin Capital Co-Founder Kyle Samani Explains Why He Left Ethereum in 2017"
type: "News"
locale: "en"
url: "https://longbridge.com/en/news/269688648.md"
description: "Kyle Samani, co-founder of Multicoin Capital, explained why he left Ethereum in 2017 despite its success. He cited high gas fees, network congestion, and slow scalability solutions as reasons. This decision influenced Multicoin Capital's investment in alternative Layer-1 blockchains like Solana. Samani's reflections highlight the ongoing debate between Ethereum's security and decentralization versus performance and cost."
datetime: "2025-12-15T08:32:23.000Z"
locales:
  - [zh-CN](https://longbridge.com/zh-CN/news/269688648.md)
  - [en](https://longbridge.com/en/news/269688648.md)
  - [zh-HK](https://longbridge.com/zh-HK/news/269688648.md)
---

> Supported Languages: [简体中文](https://longbridge.com/zh-CN/news/269688648.md) | [繁體中文](https://longbridge.com/zh-HK/news/269688648.md)


# Multicoin Capital Co-Founder Kyle Samani Explains Why He Left Ethereum in 2017

Multicoin Capital co-founder Kyle Samani has shared a candid reflection on his early journey in crypto — and the moment he decided to walk away from Ethereum despite its historic success.In a post on X, Samani said Ethereum was his entry point into the cryptocurrency industry and his first major source of wealth, describing it as both a mentor and a foundation for his career.“Ethereum got me into crypto and was my initial source of wealth,” Samani wrote.Ethereum’s Historic Rise — and a Breaking PointSamani highlighted Ethereum’s rapid ascent, noting that ETH became the fastest asset in history to reach a $100 billion market capitalization. However, he said that same period exposed structural issues that ultimately pushed him away from the ecosystem.The turning point came at Devcon 3 in Cancun, Mexico, in November 2017.At the time:Ethereum gas fees were surgingNetwork congestion was worseningScaling solutions were still largely theoreticalAccording to Samani, this created an “unprecedented sense of urgency” around scalability — one he felt Ethereum was not addressing fast enough.“Gas fees were soaring, and there was clearly a need to scale as quickly as possible,” he said.From Ethereum to Alternative Layer-1sSamani’s departure from Ethereum in 2017 would later shape Multicoin Capital’s investment thesis, including its early and vocal support for high-performance Layer-1 blockchains such as Solana. Today, Samani also serves as chairman of SOL Treasury Forward, further underscoring his long-term conviction in alternative scaling approaches.A Broader Industry DebateSamani’s comments reignite a long-running debate within crypto:Ethereum’s security and decentralization vs. performance and costThe pace of scaling through Layer-2 solutions versus new base-layer designsWhile Ethereum remains the dominant smart-contract platform by market share, his remarks reflect why many early crypto investors and builders explored other ecosystems during periods of network stress.

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