The Cost to Participate In Decentralized Networks

The cost to run an Ethereum 2.0 validator will be 32 ETH ($50,000 at today's prices). Not to mention the operational overhead of running and maintaining complex software. Sure, you can pool resources (centralization) or outsource -as-a-Service (centralization).

Running a Solana validator requires (at a minimum)

• 128 GB RAM

• Storage with high IOPS (block storage won't work)

• 1GBit/s network

A virtual machine on cloud will likely run you upwards of $1,000/mo, not considering the egress costs (which will be high, considering peering). Some of this will be covered by rewards given out by the network, but you won't break even.

If you're deploying applications, you will need a dedicated RPC endpoint. Alchemy and Infura offer free tiers but then start at $50/mo and then offer enterprise plans.

Transactions on Ethereum will cost anywhere from $2 (a basic transaction) to $50 to execute (Curve: Add Liquidity).