2024 Mainstream Public Chain Performance Review: Data is Varied, New Stars are Rising

2024 is a significant year in the development of cryptocurrency. The approval of Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs marks the gradual recognition of cryptocurrencies as a new class of emerging assets internationally. Bitcoin has surpassed the $100,000 mark, while MEME coins are emerging one after another on Solana, leading to a stark contrast in the crypto market. Public chains remain the core battleground of the crypto market, with various competitors showcasing their strengths on public chains.

From a data perspective, which public chains will truly rise in 2024? Which public chains' decline reflects a real downturn? This article reviews and summarizes this.

Data description: The objects of this inventory are high-visibility Layer 1 and Layer 2 projects, focusing on dimensions such as annual TVL, token prices, market capitalization, number of active addresses, and transaction volumes, from January 1, 2024 to December 29, 2024. Some public chains launching on the mainnet in mid-2024 will use starting data from the token launch and year-end data. TVL data comes from Defillama, daily active and daily transaction volume data come from Tokenterminal and official browsers, and price data comes from Coingecko.

The public chains reviewed this time include:

Layer1: Solana, Ethereum, BNB Chain, Sui, Aptos, TON, Avalanche, Cardano, Hyperliquid, Fantom (Sonic), Tron, Near

Layer 2: Base, Arbitrum, Optimism, zkSync, Polygon, Blast, Scroll, StarkNet, Taiko, Linea

Layer1 TVL average growth of 7 times, Hyperliquid and TON with the highest gains

In terms of TVL, the overall TVL of the analyzed public chains has increased by 117.7% this year. Layer 1 TVL has an average growth of 707.69%, while Layer 2 projects have seen an average growth of 8515.22% (mainly due to the low initial TVL of Taiko). Excluding Taiko, other Layer 2s have an average growth of 294.69%.

The highest TVL growth in Layer 1 is seen in Hyperliquid, TON, and Aptos, all exceeding 10 times. Hyperliquid has seen a TVL growth of 4407% since its launch. In Layer 2, Taiko and Base are growing the fastest, with Taiko experiencing a TVL growth of 82500% from its launch until the end of the year, and Base growing approximately 721.51% over the year.

The TVL of some public chains has declined, with zkSync experiencing the most significant drop of 41.25% this year, followed by Optimism (-16.69%), Fantom (-13.95%), Tron (-9.17%), and Polygon (-1.67%).

Half of public chains see a decline in daily active users, with Solana having the highest daily active users.

In terms of network activity, Hyperliquid, Sui, and TON saw the highest growth in daily active addresses in 2024, with increases of 13381.48%, 3350.55%, and 2409.43% respectively. Public chains like Base, Aptos, and Solana also saw their daily active addresses increase by more than 10 times.

Among the 22 public chains, 9 have experienced varying degrees of decline in daily active users. zkSync and StarkNet have seen the most severe drop in daily active users in 2024, exceeding 90%. The daily active user levels of Near, Blast, Polygon, Avalanche, Cardano, Optimism, and Tron have all declined to varying degrees compared to the beginning of the year.

At the beginning of the year, Tron had 2.2 million daily active addresses, ranking first. A year later, Solana became the public chain with the highest number of daily active addresses, reaching 4 million, with a peak daily active of 8.8 million, becoming the public chain with the most users.

In terms of daily transaction volume, Hyperliquid has once again become the public chain with the largest growth, with a year-on-year transaction volume increase of approximately 248,900%. Taiko grew by 4,471.43%, and Base grew by 1,948.78%, both exceeding 10 times. The Avalanche (C-Chain) network experienced the most significant decline in transaction volume, dropping from 2.8 million transactions to 260,000 transactions, a decrease of 90.71%, mainly due to an abnormal volatility peak on January 1. zkSync saw a 90% decline, with on-chain transaction volume dropping from millions to just over 100,000 transactions per day.

The price performance of coins is mixed, with HYPE performing the best.

In terms of token performance, about half of them rose and half fell throughout the year. The Hyperliquid token performed the best, with an annual increase of approximately 1272.30% and a maximum increase of 1648.00%, making it the only public chain token with an increase of over 10 times. It is important to consider that HYPE was only issued at the end of November, giving it a certain advantage in terms of increase compared to other public chains.

Sui, TON, Tron, and BNB Chain tokens performed well, each rising by more than 100%. Despite high market enthusiasm, the price of SOL only increased by 92.26%.

The prices of 10 public chain tokens have fallen to varying degrees, accounting for 50% (excluding unissued tokens Base and Linea). StarkNet and Blast tokens have seen the largest declines, reaching 75% and 65%, respectively.

In terms of market value, Ethereum still holds the position of the top public chain, with a market value of approximately $274.2 billion at the beginning of the year and reaching $409.4 billion by the end of the year, a growth of 49.28%. BNB's market value consistently ranks second, with a growth rate slightly higher than SOL.

Ethereum performs flat, Solana is in full swing

Solana is a public chain that must be mentioned in 2024, with impressive data changes, emerging from the shadow of the FTX collapse, and achieving significant growth in scale, rivaling Ethereum. Solana leads the MEME trend, becoming the public chain with the most users. At the beginning of the year, its TVL ranked fourth, rising to second by the end of the year; daily active users increased from eighth to first.

As the big brother of public chains, Ethereum's performance in 2024 has been uneventful. Multiple metrics show little difference between the end of the year and the beginning, with daily active users growing by 9% over the year and the number of daily transactions remaining almost flat. TVL increased by 127%, but considering the 49% rise in ETH price, the actual change is not significant. The diversion to Layer 2 may be the main reason, and whether Ethereum can maintain stability in 2025 will require more innovative content to lead.

Sui vs Hyperliquid: The Competition Between Tomorrow's Star and Supernova

Hyperliquid is a supernova in the public chain track this year, with multiple data growth rates ranking first. However, it is important to consider its short birth time, as its overall size is far behind Ethereum or Solana. The daily transaction count has nearly approached Solana, ranking second, but its market value lags behind other public chains that perform worse than it. The development potential of Hyperliquid in 2025 is still significant, but it requires stronger and sustained data support.

Sui is regarded as a major competitor to Solana in the future, with remarkable performance this year. TVL has increased nearly 7 times, daily active users have grown 33.5 times, and the highest daily transactions have exceeded 300 million. The token's increase is second only to Hyperliquid, having risen 441.13% this year. Some growth rates have already surpassed Solana, but it faces competition from projects like Hyperliquid or Aptos. Whether Sui's ecosystem can explode in 2025 may require a new breakthrough point.

Other public chains are also making moves in 2024, such as Near transitioning to AI and Fantom upgrading to Sonic. The Layer 2 track is popular, but most star projects have performed poorly after airdrops. Base has performed the best, while Taiko has shown decent performance on-chain but is small in scale, with future development to be observed.

Overall, the public chains with the largest token price increases in 2024 are basically the ones with the best growth in active users. For the development of public chains, users may be the most important indicator. The secret to investors' judgment on the future expectations of projects may be hidden beneath these simple data.