Public Chain Industry Review 2024: From Technological Competition to Practical Applications

2024 marks an important turning point for the public blockchain industry, with the focus shifting from technological competition to practical application. In this year, the market capitalization of public blockchains grew by 105.3% to reach $2.8 trillion, Bitcoin's price surpassed $100,000, and institutional adoption was achieved through ETFs. The Ethereum Layer 2 network expanded to over 200 chains, and the Bitcoin Layer 2 TVL increased by 1277.6%, both 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 primarily 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 capitalization 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 BNB Chain and Solana remained stable at 3.5% and 3.3%, respectively, while other platforms accounted for 8.1%.

The DeFi sector is also showing strong growth momentum in 2024, with a total locked value of (TVL) reaching 10.28 billion USD by the end of the year, an increase of 88.6% year-on-year. Among the top 10 public chains in terms of TVL, Bitcoin and TON have shown the most significant increase, 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 for Tron and Avalanche has declined.

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, capturing 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 platforms together accounted for 79.1% of the Ethereum L2 DeFi TVL, while previous competitors such as Blast, zkSync, and Starknet saw their market shares decline.

At the same time, the ecosystem scale continues to expand, with 50 Rollups and 70 Validiums & Optimiums currently operating on the mainnet, plus about 90 chains that are about 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 a TVL of $790 million, capturing 30.3% of the 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; 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 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. election. In addition to surpassing the $100,000 price milestone, there were two key developments in the Bitcoin ecosystem:

Institutional adoption has been enhanced: 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 a certain oil company, becoming the seventh largest asset in the world, marking the 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 integrations with the BOB network and Optimism, as well as the "Super Bitcoin" framework of BEVM, although standardization still faces challenges.

) Ethereum: Layer 2 Drives Ecological Evolution

2024 is a crucial 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 redefining its role and maintaining relevance amid 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 enhancing scalability. However, the migration of activity to Layer 2 has led to a decline in fee revenue for Ethereum itself, triggering discussions about the long-term sustainability of Ethereum. The Ethereum Foundation has responded with several measures, including the implementation of Proto-Danksharding(EIP-4844), the development of 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, 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. While questions remain regarding revenue models and competitive dynamics, Ethereum's continuous development in developer activity and innovation in scaling solutions demonstrates its adaptability.

( Solana: The Third Giant

2024 witnessed a strong comeback for Solana, with a price increase of 70.8% and a market capitalization 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, leading to unprecedented activity in the Solana ecosystem. Solana established itself as a retail trading hub, fostering a vibrant meme and DeFi community. In addition to 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 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) showed significant growth in 2024, with Toncoin price increasing by 149.6% and market capitalization growing by 84.3%. The success of TON primarily stems from 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 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 shown impressive performance, with the token price surging by 461.6% and the 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 Telegram games and the innovative development of the SuiPlay0X1 gaming console, demonstrating 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 trading platform has significantly lowered the entry barrier for mainstream users through its user-friendly smart wallet. The platform gains substantial momentum from successful social applications like friend.tech and Clanker, while the popularity of memecoins further enhances activity on the Base chain. The implementation of the "Cancun upgrade" has significantly reduced transaction fees, continuously increasing Base's appeal to developers and users.

Major Trends in the Public Chain Industry in 2024

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

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) 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 in size, and a certain payment platform expanding PYUSD to Solana. Tech giants are demonstrating deeper involvement through innovative means: Sony launched the Soneium chain for entertainment applications, while Google Cloud expanded 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 settlements.

Institutional investment paradigm shift

The public chain sector demonstrated 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 purely infrastructure-focused to application-oriented innovation. Early-stage investment events accounted for 21.4% of the total financing events, while Series A and B rounds made up 31.8%, reflecting a maturing ecosystem.

The investment philosophy of venture capital has undergone a significant transformation, prioritizing user-oriented 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 secured $100 million for application-oriented infrastructure.

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( From technical competition to application innovation

The public blockchain industry underwent a fundamental shift in 2024, moving from a technology-driven approach to an application-driven strategy. This shift challenges the previously dominant industry mindset of "build first, users will naturally come." Despite significant improvements in technical capabilities, the increased network capacity has not directly translated into corresponding user growth. For instance, although "hardware" is limited, the Ethereum base layer has a higher "transactions per second" than most Layer 2 solutions, highlighting the complex relationship between technical 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 building targeted solutions, rather than merely pursuing technological advancements. This "finding users before building" approach is reflected in several successful initiatives. The integration of social finance has become a particularly effective strategy, as demonstrated by TON's integration with Telegram 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, 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 purely 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 fostering sustainable community engagement. The success of these user-centric approaches indicates that sustainable growth in the blockchain space increasingly depends on understanding and serving user needs rather than purely advancing technological capabilities.

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Outlook for 2025

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

) Clear regulation