2024 Public Chain Industry Report: Application Breakthroughs Leading a New Era

2024 marks an important turning point for the public chain industry, as the focus of the industry shifts from technological competition to practical application implementation. In this year, the market value of public chains grew by 105.3% to reach $2.8 trillion, with Bitcoin's price surpassing $100,000 and achieving institutional adoption through ETFs. The Ethereum Layer 2 network expanded to over 200 chains, and Bitcoin's Layer 2 TVL increased by 1,277.6%. These developments illustrate the industry's transition from technological experimentation to practical real-world applications. The public chain industry is undergoing a gradual shift from being driven primarily by technology to being driven by application demand.

Market Dynamics: Growth and Transformation

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

The total market value of public chains grew by 105.3% to reach $2.8 trillion. Bitcoin's dominance rose to 69.8%, while Ethereum's share dropped from 20.4% to 15.2%. The shares of a certain trading platform 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 the total locked value ( 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 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 a decline in TVL.

The Ethereum Layer 2 ecosystem experienced significant centralization trends in 2024. Arbitrum maintained its leading position with a TVL of $10.6 billion, holding a market share of 41.1%, a decrease 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 major 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 scale continues to expand, with 50 Rollups and 70 Validium & Optimium currently operating 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 significant increase of 1,277.6% compared to 2023. Core leads with $790 million TVL, capturing a 30.3% market share, followed by Bitlayer with $1.5 billion and a 19.4% share, and BSquared with $1.3 billion, holding a 12.7% share. This growth is reflected not only in TVL but also in the number of active chains, which has more than doubled over the year, now totaling nearly 20 chains.

( Competitive Landscape: Leaders and Challengers

In 2024, the competitive landscape of the public blockchain ecosystem has undergone significant changes, mainly manifested in the strengthening of Bitcoin's dominance, the recovery 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 cap growth of 131.7%. This growth was driven by institutional adoption of spot ETFs, the halving event in April, and positive sentiments 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: The successful issuance of spot ETFs in January has completely changed the institutional access landscape, with a certain asset management company seeing its product scale rapidly reach $20 billion. Bitcoin has surpassed silver and a certain oil company to become the seventh largest asset in the world, marking a shift from a speculative asset to a recognized store of value.

The rise of BTCfi: The Bitcoin ecosystem has achieved growth beyond price increases through innovative financial products. Babylon's Bitcoin staking project, Solv Protocol's cross-chain solutions, and Core's Fusion upgrade all showcase a maturing ecosystem. Cross-chain functionality has 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 Ecosystem Evolution

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 launch of spot ETFs in July received a degree of institutional recognition, but Ethereum's price performance has significantly 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 transaction 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(, the development of cross-L2 communication standards, and the strengthening of security requirements for Layer 2 solutions.

The Layer 2 ecosystem has shown significant growth and integration throughout the year. Notable newcomers have enriched the ecosystem, including World Chain, a certain DEX's Unichain, and a certain technology company's Soneium. This evolution highlights Ethereum's transformation from a pure execution layer to a diversified Layer 2 ecosystem provider of settlement and security. Although there are still questions regarding revenue models and competitive dynamics, Ethereum's ongoing development in developer activity and innovation in 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 January Jupiter airdrop, and the Solana ecosystem has seen unprecedented activity. Solana has established itself as a center for retail trading, nurturing a vibrant meme and DeFi community. Besides meme culture, Solana has made progress in several areas: re-staking protocols, modular Layer 2 solutions, and stablecoin innovations. The ecosystem has further extended its influence through the expansion of SVM chains such as Eclipse, Soon, Atlas, and Sonic.

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

TON: Social Integration Drives Platform Growth

The Open Network )TON( showed significant growth in 2024, with Toncoin price increasing by 149.6% and market capitalization growing 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. This platform simplifies the crypto experience through wallet functionality and blockchain integration, providing millions of users with easy access to gaming, memes, and DeFi applications, establishing a model for large-scale adoption.

Sui: From Move Language Pioneer to Ecosystem Leader

Sui has performed impressively, with token prices 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 DeFi and gaming sectors, including the integration of certain social platform games and the innovative development of the SuiPlay0X1 gaming console, showcasing its comprehensive strategy for ecosystem growth. The platform's emphasis on user experience and protocol development has created positive network effects, attracting both developers and users to participate.

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 threshold 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 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 chains emerge endlessly

In 2024, project teams are launching their own public chains one after another. A certain 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 entry 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

The way institutions participate has changed.

2024 marks a decisive shift for institutions from experimental blockchain initiatives to strategic implementation. 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 giant expanding PYUSD to Solana. Tech giants are demonstrating deeper involvement through innovative approaches: a certain tech company launched the Soneium chain for entertainment applications, while a certain cloud service provider expanded its Web3 portal services. Infrastructure development is particularly noteworthy, with a certain payment company launching native USDC on Sui, and a certain payment network integrating Solana for settlement.

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Change in Institutional Investment Paradigm

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 have shifted from pure infrastructure to application-oriented innovations. Early investment events account for 21.4% of the total financing events, while Series A and B rounds account for 31.8%, reflecting the increasing maturity of the ecosystem.

The investment philosophy of venture capital has undergone a significant evolution, prioritizing user-oriented 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.

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)# From technical competition to application innovation

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

This reality has prompted the ecosystem to make a strategic shift. Blockchain platforms are increasingly focusing on identifying specific user needs and constructing targeted solutions, rather than merely pursuing pure technological advancements. This "find users and then build" approach is reflected in several successful initiatives. The integration of social finance has become a particularly effective strategy, with the integration of a certain social platform by TON 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. Initially pure speculative activities have evolved into effective user acquisition channels, especially on platforms like Solana and Base. These networks have successfully leveraged meme-related initiatives to drive ecosystem growth while building sustainable community engagement. The success of these user-centric approaches indicates that sustainable growth in the blockchain space increasingly relies on understanding and serving user needs rather than simply advancing technical capabilities.

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