From Infrastructure Competition to Application Breakthrough: 2024 Annual Report on the Public Chain Industry

2024 is a turning point for the public blockchain industry, with the industry's focus shifting from technological competition to practical application implementation. In this year, the market value of public blockchains grew by 105.3% to reach $2.8 trillion, Bitcoin's price broke $100,000, and institutional adoption was achieved through ETFs. The Ethereum Layer 2 network expanded to over 200 chains, and Bitcoin Layer 2 TVL increased by 1,277.6%. All of these indicate that the industry is moving from technological experimentation to real-world applications.

Market Dynamics: Growth and Transformation

The public chain industry will achieve unprecedented growth in 2024, with several key indicators showing significant expansion.

The total market value of public chains increased 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%, with other platforms accounting for 8.1%.

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

The Ethereum Layer 2 ecosystem experienced significant centralization 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% share, while Optimism ranked third with a TVL of $4 billion and a 15.8% share. These three platforms together accounted for 79.1% of the Ethereum L2 DeFi TVL, while previous competitors such as Blast, zkSync, and Starknet saw declines in their market shares.

At the same time, the ecosystem scale continues to expand, with 50 Rollups and 70 Validium & Optimium currently running on the mainnet, along with about 90 chains set to go live, 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 substantial 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 $1.5 billion, holding a 19.4% share ), and BSquared with $1.3 billion, accounting for 12.7% share (. This growth is not only reflected in the TVL, but the number of active chains has more than doubled over the year, with nearly 20 chains currently in existence.

) Competitive Landscape: Leaders and Challengers

In 2024, the competitive landscape of the public chain ecosystem has changed significantly, mainly manifested by the strengthening of Bitcoin's dominant position, the revival 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 were two key developments in the Bitcoin ecosystem:

Institutional Adoption: The successful issuance of spot ETFs in January has completely changed the institutional access landscape, with a certain asset management company's product scale rapidly reaching $20 billion. Bitcoin has surpassed silver and Saudi Aramco to become the seventh largest asset globally, marking a transition from a speculative asset to a 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 showcase an increasingly mature ecosystem. Cross-chain functionality has made progress through the integration of the BOB network with Optimism and the BEVM's "Super Bitcoin" framework, although standardization still faces challenges.

)# Ethereum: Layer 2 Drives Ecological Evolution

2024 is a pivotal 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 amidst growing Layer 2 adoption. The successful launch of spot ETFs in July gained some level of institutional recognition, but Ethereum's price performance has noticeably lagged behind Bitcoin.

The Ethereum mainnet has achieved significant changes through the "Cancun upgrade", successfully reducing Layer 2 transaction costs and enhancing scalability. However, the migration of activities to Layer 2 has led to a decline in Ethereum's own fee revenue, 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 the security requirements for Layer 2 solutions.

The Layer 2 ecosystem has demonstrated significant growth and integration throughout the year. Noteworthy newcomers have enriched the ecosystem, including World Chain, Unichain from a certain DEX, and Sony's Soneium. This evolution highlights Ethereum's transition from a pure execution layer to a diversified Layer 2 ecosystem that provides settlement and security. Although questions remain about revenue models and competitive dynamics, Ethereum's ongoing development in developer activity and innovation in scaling solutions showcases its adaptability.

(# Solana: The Third Giant

2024 witnessed a strong comeback for Solana, with a price increase of 70.8% and a market cap growth of 90.9%. In November, the coin price broke through $260, setting a new historical high. This revival began with the Jupiter airdrop in January, and the Solana ecosystem has been more active than ever. Solana established itself as a retail trading hub, fostering a vibrant meme and DeFi community. Beyond meme culture, Solana has made progress in multiple areas: re-staking protocols, modular Layer 2 solutions, and stablecoin innovations. The ecosystem has 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: Social Integration Drives Platform Growth

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

Sui: From Move Language Pioneer to Ecosystem Leader

Sui has performed remarkably, with its token price soaring 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 its ecosystem. Sui focuses on the DeFi and gaming sectors, including integration with a certain social platform's 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 significant 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, continuously enhancing Base's appeal to developers and users.

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) Major Trends in the Public Chain Industry in 2024

New blockchain layers emerge endlessly

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; the Web3 platform Galxe introduced Gravity. Moreover, the entry of innovative new chains such as Monad, Berachain, and HyperLiquid reflects the shift of the public chain industry towards specialized blockchain infrastructure.

Institutional Adoption: From Exploration to Strategic Integration

The way institutions participate has changed.

2024 marks a decisive shift for institutions adopting 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 in scale, and a certain payment company expanding PYUSD to Solana. Tech giants showcase deeper involvement through innovative approaches: Sony launches the Soneium chain for entertainment applications, while a certain cloud service provider expands its Web3 portal services. Infrastructure development is particularly noteworthy, with a certain stablecoin issuer launching native USDC on Sui, and a certain payment giant integrating Solana for settlement.

Change in Institutional Investment Paradigm

The public blockchain sector demonstrated a strong recovery in 2024, with 174 funding events raising a total of $1.7 billion, an increase of 137.1% compared to last year. Notably, institutional investment strategies have shifted from pure infrastructure to application-oriented innovation. Early-stage investment events accounted for 21.4% of the total funding events, while Series A and B rounds made up 31.8%, reflecting an increasingly mature ecosystem.

The investment philosophy of venture capital has undergone a significant evolution, prioritizing user-facing applications over traditional infrastructure development. This is reflected in the substantial investments in consumer-facing projects: Monad raised $225 million to optimize user experience, while Celestia and Berachain each secured $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 approach to an application-driven strategy. This change challenged the previous dominant industry mindset of "build first, 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 "users processed per second" that exceeds that of most Layer 2s, highlighting the complex relationship between technical capability and actual adoption.

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This reality has prompted the ecosystem to make a strategic shift. Blockchain platforms are increasingly focused on identifying specific user needs and building targeted solutions, rather than pursuing pure technological advancement. This "finding users before building" approach is reflected in several successful initiatives. The integration of social finance has become an especially effective strategy, with TON's social platform integration and Base's friend.tech demonstrating how familiar social platforms can drive blockchain adoption. By simplifying the user experience through account abstraction and familiar authentication methods, the entry barrier for mainstream users has been significantly lowered.

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. A clearer regulatory framework is expected to benefit