2024 Public Chain Industry Report: From Infrastructure Competition to Application Implementation

2024 is a significant turning point for the public chain industry, as the focus shifts from technological competition to practical application. In this year, the market value of public chains grows by 105.3% to reach $2.8 trillion, while Bitcoin's price breaks $100,000 and achieves institutional-level adoption through ETFs. The Ethereum Layer 2 network expands to over 200 chains, and the Bitcoin Layer 2 TVL increases by 1,277.6%. All of these indicate that the industry is moving from technological experimentation to practical real-world applications.

Market Dynamics: Growth and Transformation

The public chain industry achieved unprecedented growth in 2024, with multiple 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 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 also demonstrated strong growth momentum in 2024, with the total locked value (TVL) reaching $10.28 billion by the end of the year, an increase of 88.6% year-on-year. 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, 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 in 2024. Arbitrum maintained its lead 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.

Meanwhile, the ecosystem scale continues to expand, with 50 Rollups and 70 Validium & Optimium currently running on the mainnet, along with about 90 chains that are 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 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, holding a 19.4% share, and BSquared with $1.3 billion, accounting for 12.7% share. The number of active chains has also more than doubled throughout the year, with nearly 20 chains currently existing.

Competitive Landscape: Leaders and Challengers

In 2024, the competitive landscape of the public chain ecosystem has undergone significant changes, mainly characterized by the strengthening 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 halving event in April, 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 upgrade: The successful issuance of the spot ETF in January has completely changed the institutional access landscape, with a certain institution's product scale rapidly reaching $20 billion. 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 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 an increasingly mature ecosystem. Cross-chain functionality has made progress through the integration of the BOB network with Optimism and the BEVM "Super Bitcoin" framework, although standardization still faces challenges.

) Ethereum: Layer 2 Drives Ecological Evolution

2024 is a key year for Ethereum's transition to 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 a spot ETF in July gained some 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 improving scalability. However, the migration of activity to Layer 2 has led to a decline in fee revenue for Ethereum itself, sparking discussions about Ethereum's long-term sustainability. The Ethereum Foundation has responded with several initiatives, 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 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 diverse Layer 2 ecosystem that provides settlement and security. Although questions remain regarding 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 surpassed $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 center for retail trading, fostering a vibrant meme and DeFi community. In addition to 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 such as 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) exhibited 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 Telegram wallet features 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 soaring by 461.6% and a market cap increase of 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 Telegram game integration and the innovative development of the SuiPlay0X1 game 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 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.

Major Trends in the Public Blockchain 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 emergence 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

Change in institutional participation methods

2024 marks a decisive shift for institutions moving from experimental blockchain initiatives to strategic implementations. Financial institutions are leading this transformation, with one institution's Bitcoin ETF rapidly reaching $20 billion, and a payment platform expanding PYUSD to Solana. Tech giants are demonstrating deeper involvement through innovative means: Sony launched the Soneium chain for entertainment applications, while another tech giant expanded its Web3 portal services. Infrastructure development is particularly noteworthy, with Circle launching native USDC on Sui, and a payment company integrating Solana for settlements.

Institutional investment paradigm shift

The public blockchain 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 purely infrastructure-focused to application-oriented innovations. Early-stage investment events account for 21.4% of the total financing events, while Series A and B rounds make up 31.8%, reflecting a maturing 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 large investments in consumer-oriented 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 blockchain industry experienced a fundamental shift in 2024, moving from a technology-driven approach to an application-driven strategy. This shift challenged the previous dominant industry mindset of "build it 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, even though "hardware" is limited, the Ethereum base layer has a higher "number of users processed per second" than most Layer 2 solutions, 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 focusing on identifying specific user needs and building targeted solutions, rather than pursuing pure technological advancements. This "find the user and then build" approach is reflected in several successful initiatives. Social finance integration has become a particularly effective strategy, with TON's Telegram 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. 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-centered approaches indicates that sustainable growth in the blockchain field increasingly relies on understanding and serving user needs, rather than solely advancing technical 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 hope for improvement, especially in the United States. A clearer regulatory framework is expected to benefit the entire industry, particularly with the progress in stablecoin legislation. This regulatory clarity will promote institutional adoption of blockchain through the increase of regulated products and services, while also fostering competition among jurisdictions in crypto regulation.

( Public Chain Specialization

The specialization of public chains has become a dominant trend, shifting from competition among general-purpose Layer 1s to purpose-driven architectures. With support from cross-chain infrastructure, application-specific chains and optimized execution environments are expected to see significant development. "Rollup as a Service" ) RaaS ### is expected to expand in this field, benefiting enterprises and project parties.