Author: Stella L ( stella@footprint.network )
Data source: Footprint Analytics public chain research data dashboard
2024 marks an important watershed for the public chain industry, with the industry's focus shifting from technology competition to practical application. In this year, the market value of public chains increased by 105.3% to $2.8 trillion, the price of Bitcoin exceeded $100,000, and institutional adoption was achieved through ETFs, the Ethereum Layer 2 network expanded to more than 200 chains, and the Bitcoin Layer 2 TVL increased by 1,277.6%, all demonstrating the industry's transition from technical experiments to practical real-world applications. The public chain industry is undergoing a gradual shift from technology-driven development to application demand-driven development.
Note: Unless otherwise stated, all data in this report is as of December 20, 2024.
Market Dynamics: Growth and Transformation
In 2024, the public chain industry achieved unprecedented growth, and multiple key indicators showed significant expansion.
The total market value of public chains increased by 105.3% to $2.8 trillion. Bitcoin dominance rose to 69.8%, while Ethereum's share fell from 20.4% to 15.2%. BNB Chain and Solana's shares remained stable at 3.5% and 3.3%, and other platforms accounted for 8.1%.
The DeFi sector also showed strong growth momentum in 2024, with the total locked value (TVL) reaching US$102.8 billion at 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 had the most significant growth, both exceeding 2,000%. Aptos, Sui and Solana also performed well, increasing 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 leading position with a TVL of $10.6 billion and a market share of 41.1%, down from 50.8% in 2023. Base became the dark horse of the year, jumping to second place with $5.8 billion TVL (22.5% share), while Optimism ranked third with $4 billion TVL (15.8%). Together, these three platforms accounted for 79.1% of Ethereum L2 DeFi TVL, while previous competitors such as Blast, zkSync, and Starknet all saw their market share decline.
At the same time, the scale of the ecosystem continues to expand. Currently, there are 50 Rollups and 70 Validium & Optimium running on the mainnet, plus about 90 chains that are about to be launched, the total number of Ethereum L2 exceeds 200.
Bitcoin Layer 2 and sidechain ecosystems have experienced explosive growth, with total locked value reaching $2.6 billion, a significant increase of 1,277.6% from 2023. Core leads with $790 million TVL (30.3% market share), followed by Bitlayer ($500 million, 19.4% share) and BSquared ($330 million, 12.7% share). This growth is not only reflected in TVL, the number of active chains has more than doubled throughout the year, with nearly 20 chains now.
Competitive Landscape: Leaders and Challengers
In 2024, the competitive landscape of the public chain ecosystem has changed significantly, mainly manifested in the increased dominance of Bitcoin, the recovery of Solana, and the rise of emerging challengers.
Bitcoin: From Store of Value to Financial Infrastructure
Bitcoin has seen exceptional growth in 2024, with a 129.2% price increase and a 131.7% market cap increase. This growth was driven by institutional adoption of spot ETFs, the April halving event, and positive post-election sentiment in the US. In addition to breaking the $100,000 price milestone, there were two key developments in the Bitcoin ecosystem:
Institutional adoption increased : The successful launch of spot ETFs in January completely changed the institutional access landscape, with BlackRock's product quickly reaching $20 billion. Bitcoin surpassed silver and Saudi Aramco to become the world's seventh largest asset, marking a shift from a speculative asset to a recognized store of value.
BTCfi rises : The Bitcoin ecosystem has expanded beyond price growth through innovative financial products. Babylon’s Bitcoin staking project, Solv Protocol’s cross-chain solution, and Core’s Fusion upgrade all demonstrate an increasingly mature ecosystem. Cross-chain functionality has made progress through the integration of BOB Network with Optimism and BEVM’s “Super Bitcoin” framework, although standardization still faces challenges.
Ethereum: Layer 2 drives ecosystem evolution
2024 is a critical year for Ethereum's transformation into a Layer 2-centric ecosystem. Despite a 55.8% price increase to $3,744, Ethereum faces the complex challenge of repositioning its role and maintaining relevance against the backdrop of growing Layer 2 adoption. The successful launch of a spot ETF in July has gained some institutional recognition, but Ethereum's price performance has lagged significantly behind Bitcoin.
The Ethereum mainnet has made important changes through the "Cancun Upgrade", successfully reducing Layer 2 transaction costs and improving scalability. However, the migration of activities to Layer 2 has led to a decline in Ethereum's own fee income, sparking discussions about the long-term sustainability of Ethereum. The Ethereum Foundation has responded through multiple initiatives, including the implementation of Proto-Danksharding (EIP-4844), the development of cross-L2 communication standards, and strengthening the security requirements of Layer 2 solutions.
The Layer 2 ecosystem showed significant growth and consolidation throughout the year. Notable new entrants enriched the ecosystem, including World Chain, Uniswap's Unichain, and Sony's Soneium. This evolution highlights Ethereum's transformation from a pure execution layer to a settlement and security provider for a diversified Layer 2 ecosystem. While questions remain about revenue models and competitive dynamics, Ethereum's continued growth in developer activity and innovation in scaling solutions demonstrates its adaptability.
Solana: The Third Giant
2024 saw Solana’s comeback, with a 70.8% price increase and a 90.9% market cap increase, with the coin price exceeding $260 in November to set a new all-time high. This resurgence began with the Jupiter airdrop in January, and the Solana ecosystem has been unprecedentedly active. Solana has established itself as a retail trading hub and cultivated 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 innovation. The ecosystem has further extended its influence through the expansion of SVM chains such as Eclipse, Soon, Atlas, and Sonic.
The rise of new forces: TON, Sui and Base
TON: Social integration drives platform growth
The Open Network (TON) has shown significant growth in 2024, with Toncoin prices up 149.6% and market cap up 84.3%. TON's success is largely due to its deep integration with Telegram, which effectively bridges the gap between traditional social networks and blockchain technology. The platform simplifies the crypto experience through Telegram wallet functionality and blockchain integration, providing easy access to games, memes, and DeFi applications for millions of users, establishing a model for mass adoption.
Sui: From Move language pioneer to ecosystem leader
Sui performed well, with the token price soaring 461.6% and the market value increasing by 1,363.8%. This success reflects the market's confidence in the development of the Move language technology and ecosystem. Sui's focus on DeFi and gaming, including Telegram game integration and innovative SuiPlay0X1 game console development, shows its comprehensive layout for ecosystem growth. The platform's emphasis on user experience and protocol development creates a positive network effect, attracting the participation of developers and users.
Base: Institutional background drives rapid growth
Base’s remarkable growth has been driven by several key factors. Coinbase has significantly lowered the barrier to entry for mainstream users through its user-friendly smart wallet implementation. The platform has gained substantial momentum from successful social applications such as friend.tech and Clanker, while the popularity of memecoin has further boosted Base on-chain activity. The implementation of the “Cancun Upgrade” has significantly reduced transaction fees, making Base increasingly attractive to developers and users.
Major trends in the public chain industry in 2024
New chains emerge in endlessly
In 2024, project parties have launched their own public chains. DeFi giant Uniswap announced Unichain; gaming platform Treasure DAO developed ZK-based Layer 2; the NFT field saw Pudgy Penguins launch Abstract; Web3 platform Galxe launched Gravity. Not only that, the entry of innovative new chains such as Monad, Berachain and HyperLiquid reflects the transformation of the public chain industry to professional blockchain infrastructure.
Institutional adoption: From exploration to strategic integration
Changes in institutional engagement
2024 marks a decisive shift in institutional adoption from experimental blockchain initiatives to strategic implementation. Financial institutions are leading this transition, with BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF rapidly reaching $20 billion and PayPal expanding PYUSD to Solana. Tech giants are demonstrating deeper involvement through innovative means: Sony launches Soneium chain for entertainment applications, while Google Cloud expands its Web3 portal services. Infrastructure developments are particularly noteworthy, with Circle launching native USDC on Sui and Visa integrating Solana for settlement.
Changing paradigm of institutional investment
The public chain sector showed a strong recovery in 2024, with 174 financing events raising a total of US$1.7 billion, an increase of 137.1% over last year. It is worth noting that institutional investment strategies have shifted from pure infrastructure to application-oriented innovation. Early-stage investment events accounted for 21.4% of the total number of financing events, while Series A and B accounted for 31.8%, reflecting the increasing maturity of the ecosystem.
Venture capital investment philosophy has evolved significantly, prioritizing user-facing applications over traditional infrastructure development. This is reflected in large investments in consumer-facing projects: Monad raised $225 million to optimize user experience, and Celestia and Berachain each received $100 million for application-facing infrastructure.
From technology competition to application innovation
The public blockchain industry has undergone a fundamental shift in 2024, from a technology-led to an application-driven strategy. This shift challenges the “build first, and users will come” mindset that previously dominated the industry. Despite significant improvements in technical capabilities, the increased network capacity has not directly translated into corresponding user growth. For example, despite “hardware” limitations, the Ethereum base layer has a higher “users per second” ( UOPS ) than most Layer 2s, highlighting the complex relationship between technical capabilities and actual adoption.
This reality has prompted a strategic shift in the ecosystem. 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 has been reflected in multiple successful initiatives. Social finance integration has become a particularly effective strategy, with TON’s Telegram integration and Base’s friend.tech showing how familiar social platforms can drive blockchain adoption. Simplifying the user experience through account abstraction and familiar authentication methods has significantly lowered the entry barrier for mainstream users.
The evolution of meme culture in the blockchain space further reflects this shift toward application-oriented development. What started out as purely speculative activities evolved into effective user acquisition channels, especially on platforms like Solana and Base. These networks have successfully used meme-related initiatives to drive ecosystem growth while building sustainable community engagement. The success of these user-centric approaches shows that sustainable growth in the blockchain space is increasingly dependent on understanding and serving user needs rather than purely advancing technical capabilities.
Outlook for 2025
2025 promises to be a significant transformational year as the blockchain industry moves from technology experimentation to real-world implementation.
Regulatory Clarity
The regulatory environment shows promise for significant improvement, particularly in the United States. A clearer regulatory framework is expected to benefit the industry as a whole, especially with progress on stablecoin legislation. This regulatory clarity will foster increased blockchain adoption by institutions through regulated products and services, while promoting competition between jurisdictions in crypto regulation.
Public chain professionalization
The specialization of public chains has become a dominant trend, shifting from general Layer 1 competition to purpose-oriented architectures. With the support of cross-chain infrastructure, application-specific chains and optimized execution environments will gain great development. The "Rollup as a Service" (RaaS) field is expected to expand, providing enterprises and project parties with more convenient customized blockchain solutions.
Technological innovation and AI integration
In 2025, technological innovation will shift from pure breakthroughs to application-oriented infrastructure upgrades. The implementation of Proto-Danksharding will double Blob capacity and push Layer 2 expansion into a new stage; the development of chain abstraction technology will bring a more intuitive user experience; and cross-chain communication standardization will simplify interoperability.
At the infrastructure level, we expect to see more developments driven by actual needs. The modular blockchain technology stack will mature and provide specialized solutions for data availability, settlement, and execution layers. It is worth noting that the deep integration of AI technology and blockchain will reshape the infrastructure: from improving the user interface to implementing complex on-chain AI agents, from decentralized model training to supporting social financial integration, these innovations will provide support for more complex application scenarios while maintaining security and decentralization, laying a solid foundation for the next round of blockchain innovation.
Conclusion
The past year has proven that sustainable growth depends not only on technical capabilities, but also on meaningful user adoption and real utility. With increased regulatory clarity, technical infrastructure advancements, and increased institutional participation, the foundation for meaningful mass adoption of blockchain technology is in place. The shift in focus from “what's technically possible” to “what's practically valuable” will define the industry's next phase of growth in 2025.
