SEI: The Fast-Moving Challenger
SEI Network has been turning heads lately for all the right reasons. It’s positioning itself as a “financial app chain” built for high-speed trading, DeFi, and even gaming.
And it’s not just talk, its upcoming Giga upgrade could make it one of the fastest EVM chains in crypto, reportedly capable of handling up to 200,000 transactions per second.
But speed isn’t SEI’s only story. Big names like Apollo, one of the world’s largest asset managers with $840 billion under management, have started using SEI for tokenized private credit funds.
The fund, backed by BlackRock and Morgan Stanley via Securitize, went live in late September and marked a major step in SEI’s move into real‑world asset (RWA) tokenization.
Then there’s PayPal. Its native stablecoin, PYUSD, is coming to SEI too, powered by LayerZero. That’s a huge on‑chain payment bridge for over 430 million PayPal users worldwide.
On top of that, SEI claims to be the number‑one blockchain for gaming by transaction count, surging 600 % over the past year. Whether or not that figure holds up under scrutiny, the network clearly has momentum, and a lot of eyes watching.
Cardano: The Veteran Contender
Cardano, on the other hand, continues to play the long game. Its approach is academic, deliberate, and built for the long term. ADA recently rolled out a new roadmap that includes stablecoin staking, a major update that could make DeFi on Cardano far more attractive.
The network is also expanding access to staking. eToro US now allows its 40 million users to stake ADA, opening the door for more mainstream participation. And with Cardano now included in Hashdex’s NASDAQ crypto index ETF (alongside Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana), institutional exposure is finally increasing.
ADA price has also had a solid run lately. It’s up more than 40 % in the last three months and 147 % over the past year. Its market cap sits at around $31 billion, with 36.5 billion ADA already in circulation, showing just how mature the project has become.
The Verdict: Stability or Growth?
Altcoin Buzz wrapped up their analysis by saying the choice really depends on your risk appetite. SEI is the fast and furious disruptor, smaller, riskier, but with much higher potential upside. Cardano, meanwhile, is the established heavyweight, slower‑moving, but battle‑tested and more predictable.
If you’re chasing innovation and big upside, SEI might be your pick. If you want consistency, staking rewards, and a proven ecosystem, Cardano still stands strong.
As Maddie summed it up, “Both are great projects. But if I had to choose right now, I’d go 75 % SEI and 25 % ADA.”
Both are here to stay, but how you balance them depends on what kind of investor you are.