MONEYWEB app instead? Why smaller cryptos are crushing bitcoin A battle for the future of the worldâs financial system is raging â and Ethereum, Cardano and Polkadot are in the ring. 00:01 The jury is still out, but Cardano could dislodge Ethereum as the platform of the new global financial system. Image: Akos Stiller, Bloomberg Bitcoin hogged the headlines in the last week with its sprint past R700Â 000 on news that electric car company Tesla had invested $1.5 billion in the crypto, but a potentially more interesting story is playing out among three of the smaller cryptocurrencies â Ethereum, Cardano and Polkadot. There is a battle playing out among the three over who gets to control what many perceive as the future global financial system â something known as ‘decentralised finance’ or DeFi.