Review of the Public Chain Industry in 2024 and Outlook for 2025: From Infrastructure Competition to Application Implementation

2024 marks an important turning point in the public blockchain industry, shifting the focus from technical competition to practical application implementation. In this year, the market value of public blockchains grew by 105.3% to reach $2.8 trillion, with Bitcoin's price breaking the $100,000 mark, and institutional adoption achieved through ETFs. At the same time, the Ethereum Layer 2 network expanded to over 200 chains, and Bitcoin Layer 2 TVL increased by 1,277.6%. These developments indicate that the industry is transitioning from the technical experimentation phase to the real-world application phase.

Market Dynamics: Growth and Transformation

In 2024, the public chain industry achieved unprecedented growth, with multiple key indicators showing significant expansion.

The total market capitalization of public chains grew by 105.3% to reach $2.8 trillion. Bitcoin's dominance rose to 69.8%, while Ethereum's share fell from 20.4% to 15.2%. The shares of BNB Chain and Solana remained stable at 3.5% and 3.3%, respectively, while other platforms accounted for 8.1%.

The DeFi sector also showed strong growth momentum in 2024, with a total locked value of (TVL) reaching 10.28 billion USD by the end of the year, a year-on-year increase of 88.6%. Among the top 10 public chains by TVL, Bitcoin and TON saw the most significant increases, both exceeding 2,000%. Aptos, Sui, and Solana also performed well, with increases of 754.4%, 677.1%, and 321.3%, respectively. However, the TVL of Tron and Avalanche both declined.

The Ethereum Layer 2 ecosystem experienced significant centralization trends in 2024. A certain trading platform maintained its leading position with a TVL of $10.6 billion and a market share of 41.1%, down from 50.8% in 2023. Base emerged as the dark horse of the year, jumping to second place with a TVL of $5.8 billion and a 22.5% market share, while Optimism ranked third with a TVL of $4 billion and a 15.8% market share. These three platforms together accounted for 79.1% of the Ethereum L2 DeFi TVL, while previous competitors like Blast, zkSync, and Starknet saw their market shares decline.

At the same time, the ecosystem continues to expand, with 50 Rollups and 70 Validiums & Optimiums currently running on the mainnet, along with about 90 chains set to launch soon, bringing the total number of Ethereum L2s to over 200.

The Bitcoin Layer 2 and sidechain ecosystem has experienced explosive growth, with a total locked value (TVL) reaching $2.6 billion, a significant increase of 1,277.6% compared to 2023. Core leads with a TVL of $790 million, capturing 30.3% market share, followed by Bitlayer with $150 million and 19.4% share, and BSquared with $130 million and 12.7% share. This growth is not only reflected in the TVL, but the number of active chains has also more than doubled over the year, currently reaching nearly 20 chains.

( Competitive Landscape: Leaders and Challengers

In 2024, the competitive landscape of the public chain ecosystem has undergone significant changes, mainly reflected in the strengthened dominance of Bitcoin, the resurgence of Solana, and the rise of emerging challengers.

)# Bitcoin: From Store of Value to Financial Infrastructure

Bitcoin achieved remarkable growth in 2024, with a price increase of 129.2% and a market capitalization growth of 131.7%. This growth was driven by institutional adoption of spot ETFs, the April halving event, and positive sentiment following the U.S. elections. In addition to breaking the $100,000 price milestone, there are two key developments in the Bitcoin ecosystem:

Institutional adoption has been enhanced: The successful launch of the spot ETF in January has completely changed the institutional access landscape, with a certain asset management company's product size rapidly reaching $20 billion. Bitcoin has surpassed silver and Saudi Aramco to become the seventh largest asset globally, marking a shift from speculative asset to recognized store of value.

The Rise of BTCfi: The Bitcoin ecosystem has achieved expansion beyond price growth through innovative financial products. Babylon's Bitcoin staking project, Solv Protocol's cross-chain solutions, and Core's Fusion upgrade all demonstrate the increasingly mature ecosystem. Cross-chain capabilities have made progress through the integration of the BOB network with Optimism and the "Super Bitcoin" framework of BEVM, although standardization still faces challenges.

(# Ethereum: Layer 2 Drives Ecological Evolution

The year 2024 is a key year for Ethereum's transformation into a Layer 2-centric ecosystem. Despite a price increase of 55.8% to $3,744, Ethereum faces complex challenges in repositioning its role and maintaining relevance against the backdrop of growing Layer 2 adoption. The successful issuance of spot ETFs in July received a degree of institutional recognition, but Ethereum's price performance has significantly lagged behind that of Bitcoin.

The Ethereum mainnet has achieved significant changes through the "Cancun Upgrade," successfully reducing Layer 2 transaction costs and improving scalability. However, the migration of activity to Layer 2 has led to a decline in fee revenue for Ethereum itself, sparking discussions about the long-term sustainability of Ethereum. The Ethereum Foundation has responded with several initiatives, including the implementation of Proto-Danksharding)EIP-4844(, developing cross-L2 communication standards, and strengthening security requirements for Layer 2 solutions.

The Layer 2 ecosystem has shown significant growth and integration throughout the year. Notable new entrants have enriched the ecosystem, including World Chain, a DEX's Unichain, and Sony's Soneium. This evolution highlights Ethereum's shift from a pure execution layer to a diverse Layer 2 ecosystem that provides settlement and security. Although there are still questions about revenue models and competitive dynamics, Ethereum's continued development in developer activity and innovation of scaling solutions demonstrates its adaptability.

)# Solana: The Third Giant

2024 witnessed a strong comeback for Solana, with prices rising by 70.8% and market capitalization increasing by 90.9%. In November, the coin price broke through $260, setting a new historical high. This revival began with the Jupiter airdrop in January, leading to unprecedented activity in the Solana ecosystem. Solana established itself as a center for retail trading and fostered a vibrant meme and DeFi community. Beyond meme culture, Solana made progress in multiple areas: re-staking protocols, modular Layer 2 solutions, and stablecoin innovations. The ecosystem further extended its influence through the expansion of SVM chains like Eclipse, Soon, Atlas, and Sonic.

(# The Rise of Emerging Forces: TON, Sui, and Base

TON: A Social Integration-Driven Platform for Growth

The Open Network )TON( showed significant growth in 2024, with Toncoin prices increasing by 149.6% and market capitalization rising by 84.3%. The success of TON is primarily attributed to its deep integration with Telegram, effectively bridging the gap between traditional social networks and blockchain technology. The platform simplifies the crypto experience through the Telegram wallet feature and blockchain integration, providing millions of users with easy access to games, memes, and DeFi applications, establishing a model for large-scale adoption.

Sui: From Move Language Pioneer to Ecosystem Leader

Sui has performed remarkably, with the token price surging by 461.6% and market capitalization increasing by 1,363.8%. This success reflects the market's confidence in the development of Move language technology and ecosystem. Sui focuses on DeFi and gaming sectors, including the integration of Telegram games and the innovative development of the SuiPlay0X1 gaming console, showcasing its comprehensive layout for ecosystem growth. The platform's emphasis on user experience and protocol development has created positive network effects, attracting the joint participation of developers and users.

Base: Institutional background drives rapid growth

The notable growth of Base is driven by several key factors. A certain trading platform has significantly lowered the entry barrier for mainstream users through its user-friendly smart wallet. The platform has gained substantial momentum from successful social applications like friend.tech and Clanker, while the popularity of memecoins has further boosted activity on the Base chain. The implementation of the "Cancun Upgrade" has significantly reduced transaction fees, continually enhancing Base's appeal to developers and users.

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Major Trends in the Public Blockchain Industry in 2024

New chains are emerging one after another

In 2024, project parties are launching their own public chains one after another. The DeFi giant DEX announced Unichain; the gaming platform Treasure DAO developed a ZK-based Layer 2; the NFT sector saw Pudgy Penguins launch Abstract; and the Web3 platform Galxe introduced Gravity. Moreover, the emergence of innovative new chains like Monad, Berachain, and HyperLiquid reflects the public chain industry's shift towards specialized blockchain infrastructure.

Institutional Adoption: From Exploration to Strategic Integration

Change in institutional participation methods

2024 marks a decisive shift for institutions from experimental blockchain initiatives to strategic implementations. Financial institutions are leading this transformation, with a certain asset management company's Bitcoin ETF rapidly reaching $20 billion, and PayPal expanding PYUSD to Solana. Tech giants showcase deeper involvement through innovative approaches: Sony launches the Soneium chain for entertainment applications, while Google Cloud expands its Web3 portal services. Infrastructure development is particularly noteworthy, with Circle launching native USDC on Sui and Visa integrating Solana for settlement.

The paradigm shift of institutional investment

The public chain sector is showing a strong recovery in 2024, with 174 financing events raising a total of $1.7 billion, an increase of 137.1% compared to last year. Notably, institutional investment strategies are shifting from pure infrastructure to application-oriented innovations. Early-stage investment events account for 21.4% of the total financing events, while Series A and B rounds account for 31.8%, reflecting a maturing ecosystem.

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The investment philosophy of venture capital has undergone a significant evolution, prioritizing user-facing applications over traditional infrastructure development. This is reflected in the large investments in consumer-facing projects: Monad raised $225 million to optimize user experience, while Celestia and Berachain each received $100 million for application-oriented infrastructure.

)# From technical competition to application innovation

The public chain industry underwent a fundamental transformation in 2024, shifting from a technology-driven to an application-driven strategy. This shift challenged the previous dominant industry mindset of "build first, and users will naturally come." Despite significant improvements in technical capabilities, the increased network capacity did not directly translate into corresponding user growth. For example, despite "hardware" limitations, the Ethereum base layer has a higher "users processed per second" than most Layer 2s, highlighting the complex relationship between technical capability and actual adoption.

This reality drives the ecosystem to make strategic shifts. Blockchain platforms are increasingly focusing on identifying specific user needs and building targeted solutions, rather than pursuing pure technological advancement. This "find the user then build" approach is reflected in several successful initiatives. The integration of social finance has become a particularly effective strategy, with TON's Telegram integration and Base's friend.tech showcasing how familiar social platforms can drive blockchain adoption. By simplifying the user experience through account abstraction and familiar authentication methods, it significantly lowers the entry barrier for mainstream users.

The evolution of meme culture in the blockchain space further reflects this shift towards application-oriented development. What initially began as purely speculative activities has transformed into effective user acquisition channels, particularly on platforms like Solana and Base. These networks have successfully leveraged meme-related initiatives to drive ecosystem growth while fostering sustainable community engagement. The success of these user-centric approaches indicates that sustainable growth in the blockchain sector increasingly relies on understanding and serving user needs rather than solely advancing technological capabilities.

2025 Outlook

As the blockchain industry shifts from technical experimentation to practical implementation, 2025 is expected to be a significant year of transformation.

Regulatory Clarity

The regulatory environment shows significant signs of improvement, especially in the United States. More