Public Blockchain Industry Annual Report 2024: From Technical Competition to Application Breakthrough

2024 marks an important turning point for the public blockchain industry, with the 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, institutional-level adoption was achieved through ETFs, Ethereum's Layer 2 network expanded to over 200 chains, and Bitcoin's Layer 2 TVL increased by 1,277.6%, all demonstrating the industry's transition from technological experimentation to practical real-world applications. The public blockchain industry is undergoing a gradual shift from being driven by technology to being driven by application demand.

Market Dynamics: Growth and Transformation

The public chain industry will achieve unprecedented growth in 2024, 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 decreased from 20.4% to 15.2%. The shares of a certain trading platform's chain and Solana remained stable at 3.5% and 3.3%, respectively, while other platforms accounted for 8.1%.

The DeFi sector also demonstrated 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 in terms of TVL, Bitcoin and TON showed 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, the TVL of Tron and Avalanche both declined.

The Ethereum Layer 2 ecosystem experienced significant centralization trends in 2024. Arbitrum 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 like Blast, zkSync, and Starknet saw a decline in their market shares.

At the same time, the ecosystem is continuously expanding, with 50 Rollups and 70 Validiums & Optimiums currently running on the mainnet, along with about 90 upcoming chains, bringing the total number of Ethereum L2s to over 200.

The Bitcoin Layer 2 and sidechain ecosystem has experienced explosive growth, with the total locked value 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% of the market share, followed by Bitlayer with $1.5 billion, holding 19.4% share, and BSquared with $330 million, accounting for 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 chain ecosystem has undergone significant changes, mainly characterized by the strengthening of Bitcoin's dominance, 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 were two key developments in the Bitcoin ecosystem:

Institutional adoption has been boosted: The successful launch of spot ETFs in January has completely transformed the institutional access landscape, with a certain asset management company's product scale rapidly reaching 20 billion dollars. Bitcoin has surpassed silver and Saudi Aramco to become the seventh largest asset globally, marking a shift 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 solution, 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 "Super Bitcoin" framework of BEVM, although standardization still faces challenges.

) Ethereum: Layer 2 Drives Ecological 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 amid the growth of Layer 2 adoption. The successful launch of a spot ETF in July received a certain degree of institutional recognition, but Ethereum's price performance has significantly lagged behind Bitcoin.

The Ethereum mainnet has achieved significant changes through the "Cancún Upgrade," successfully reducing Layer 2 transaction costs and enhancing scalability. However, the migration of activities to Layer 2 has led to a decrease in transaction fee revenue for Ethereum itself, raising 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 newcomers have enriched the ecosystem, including World Chain, Unichain from a certain DEX, and Soneium from a certain tech company. This evolution highlights Ethereum's transition from a pure execution layer to a diversified Layer 2 ecosystem provider of settlement and security. While questions remain 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 Solana's strong comeback, 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 January Jupiter airdrop, and the Solana ecosystem has been exceptionally active. Solana has established itself as a retail trading hub, nurturing a vibrant meme and DeFi community. Beyond meme culture, Solana has made progress in various areas: re-staking protocols, modular Layer 2 solutions, and stablecoin innovations. The ecosystem further extended its influence through the expansion of SVM chains such as Eclipse, Soon, Atlas, and Sonic.

) The Rise of Emerging Forces: TON, Sui, and Base

TON: Social Integration Drives Platform Growth

The Open Network (TON) demonstrated significant growth in 2024, with Toncoin 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 instant messaging 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 games, memes, and DeFi applications, establishing a model of large-scale adoption.

Sui: From Move Language Pioneer to Ecosystem Leader

Sui has performed impressively, with the 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 the integration of games on a certain instant messaging platform 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 remarkably lowered the entry barrier for mainstream users through its user-friendly smart wallet. The platform has gained substantial momentum from successful social applications such as 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 chains are emerging endlessly

In 2024, project teams are launching their own public chains. 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. Furthermore, the entry of innovative new chains such as 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 implementations. Financial institutions are leading this transformation, with a certain asset management company's Bitcoin ETF rapidly reaching a scale of $20 billion, and a certain payment platform expanding PYUSD to Solana. Tech giants are demonstrating deeper involvement through innovative means: 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 stablecoin issuer launching native USDC on Sui and a certain payment network integrating Solana for settlements.

Institutional investment paradigm shift

The public blockchain sector showed 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-stage investment events accounted for 21.4% of the total number of financing events, while Series A and B rounds made up 31.8%, reflecting the increasing maturity of the ecosystem.

The investment philosophy of venture capital has undergone 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 technological competition to application innovation

The public chain industry underwent a fundamental shift in 2024, moving from a technology-driven approach to an application-driven strategy. This shift challenges the previous dominant industry mindset of "build first, users will naturally come." Although technological capabilities have significantly improved, the increased network capacity has not directly translated into corresponding user growth. For instance, despite "hardware" limitations, the Ethereum base layer has a "users processed per second" that exceeds most Layer 2s, highlighting the complex relationship between technological capability and actual adoption.

This reality prompts ecosystems 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 and then build" approach is reflected in several successful initiatives. The integration of social finance has become a particularly effective strategy, as seen in the integration of TON's instant messaging platform and Base's.