Author: Stella L (stella@footprint.network)
Data source: Footprint Analytics Public Chain Research Page
In September 2024, the blockchain industry experienced significant growth, driven by a favorable macroeconomic environment and regulatory progress, resulting in a strong performance in the cryptocurrency market. Bitcoin's Layer 2 stood out, growing at a faster pace than Ethereum's Layer 2. In the Layer 1 domain, Sui entered the top 15 market cap rankings for the first time, becoming a focus of attention. The Ethereum ecosystem faced scrutiny, sparking discussions about future development standards, while Bitcoin's Layer 2 TVL (Total Value Locked) saw a significant increase.
The data for this report is sourced from the Public Chain Research page on Footprint Analytics. This page provides an easy-to-use dashboard containing the most critical statistics and metrics for the public chain space, with real-time updates.
Market Overview
The crypto market exhibited strong performance in September. Bitcoin opened at $57,429 and closed the month at $63,485, a 10.5% increase. While Ethereum also performed positively, it did not match Bitcoin's gains. Ether started at $2,426 and ended at $2,603, a 7.3% increase. Notably, the ETH/BTC price ratio reached a new cycle low of 0.0386 in mid-September.
Data source: Bitcoin and Ether Price Trends
Several key factors contributed to this positive market sentiment:
- Monetary Policy Shift: On September 18, the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) unexpectedly implemented a 50-basis-point rate cut, exceeding expectations. Later in the month, Chinese policymakers implemented macroeconomic stimulus measures, providing support for global equity markets.
- Regulatory Progress: The US regulatory environment showed signs of improvement. The SEC approved the listing of spot Bitcoin ETP (Exchange-Traded Product) options, and more similar applications are expected to be approved.
- Institutional Adoption: Bank of New York Mellon appears to be preparing to offer crypto asset custody services, which could further solidify the legitimacy of cryptocurrencies in the financial sector.
- Political Support: The political landscape also saw positive changes. Former US President Trump announced a new decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol, and Vice President Harris expressed support for digital assets and blockchain technology.
Layer 1
In September 2024, the total market capitalization of blockchain cryptocurrencies reached $1.9 trillion, an increase of 6.9% from August. The market dominance was still held by Bitcoin (67.3%), Ethereum (16.8%), BNB Chain (4.5%), and Solana (3.9%). Bitcoin and BNB Chain maintained their market shares, while Ethereum's market share decreased by 0.6%, and Solana's increased by 0.3%.
Data source: Public Chain Token Market Cap
Among the top 15 public chains by market capitalization, Sui performed exceptionally well, with a 132.2% increase in market value, entering the rankings for the first time at the 13th position.
Data source: Public Chain Token Prices and Market Cap as of September 2024
The total DeFi TVL reached $68.1 billion, an increase of 6.4% from August, with Sui's TVL growing by 67.4%.
Data source: Public Chain TVL as of September 2024
September was a breakthrough month for Sui, thanks to the Sui Foundation's efforts to incentivize dApp development. The DeFi protocol NAVI and the Telegram game BIRDS significantly drove on-chain activity.
At the TOKEN2049 conference in Singapore, Vitalik Buterin highlighted the evolution of cryptocurrencies from the initial stage to usability, and emphasized the industry's progress towards mass adoption. The following trends emerged in this direction:
Web3 games continue to be a key driver for blockchain mass adoption. Multiple networks, including TON, BNB Chain, Sui, and Aptos, leveraged the Telegram ecosystem to expand their user base.
Stablecoins and their financial applications gained momentum. Celo's success in Africa demonstrated the potential of stablecoins in emerging markets, while Sui announced upcoming integration with Circle's native USDC.
Efforts to lower the entry barrier were further strengthened. BNB Chain launched a "Gas-Free Carnival" offering zero-gas-fee options for specific transactions. Solana introduced its Web3 smartphone terminal Solana Seeker, and Ronin launched Ronin Waypoint, a universal account and keyless wallet for its ecosystem.
These developments highlight the industry's commitment to enhancing the user experience and expanding the impact of blockchain across various domains and demographics.
Bitcoin Layer 2
In September 2024, the Bitcoin Layer 2 (including sidechains) TVL saw a significant increase, reaching $1.5 billion, a 33% growth from August. Core emerged as the leader in this space with a TVL of $440 million (30.5% market share), followed by Bitlayer ($390 million, 26.8%), Rootstock ($180 million, 12.3%), and Merlin ($130 million, 9.2%).
Data source: Bitcoin Ecosystem Chains TVL
The performance of Core is particularly outstanding, with its TVL growing by more than 100% compared to August. This surge is mainly due to the launch of the Core Ignition Drop Season 2, which, in addition to BTCFi, has expanded to Web3 games, significantly boosting on-chain activity. As a result, Core has surpassed Bitlayer to become the largest Bitcoin expansion solution in terms of TVL, although Bitlayer's TVL has also achieved a steady growth of 9.4%.
Rootstock maintained a stable growth momentum, with a TVL increase of 12.5%, continuing to rank third. Other noteworthy performers include BSquared (TVL growth of 42.8%), Stacks (growth of 26.5%), and BEVM (growth of 6.3%).
Looking ahead, the Bitcoin staking protocol Babylon announced that Mainnet Phase-1 Cap-2 will be launched in the second week of October. During Cap-1, it quickly staked 1,000 BTC, which has generated high expectations for the launch of Cap-2.
The Solv protocol has expanded its Bitcoin staking ecosystem, providing new options for cbBTC holders on Base, and collaborated with Pendle to launch the high-yield SolvBTC.BBN pool. The platform has integrated with multiple DeFi protocols, increasing its total integration to 35 blockchains and protocols. Leveraging Chainlink's cross-chain technology and expanding to Avalanche and Base, Solv is now operating on 9 blockchains, highlighting its growing importance in expanding Bitcoin DeFi opportunities across multiple chains, including becoming the first Bitcoin staking protocol in the Base ecosystem.
Ethereum Layer 2
In September 2024, the TVL of Ethereum Layer 2 reached $23.2 billion (canonically bridged portion), an increase of 8.31% compared to August, but this growth rate was lower than that of Bitcoin Layer 2.
Arbitrum One, Optimism, and Base continue to dominate the TVL market share, accounting for 48.8%, 19.7%, and 8.1% respectively, with little change compared to the previous month. However, their total market share has slightly declined, indicating the growth of other Ethereum Layer 2 solutions.
DeGate continued to perform strongly, with a 17.9% increase in TVL in September, continuing the 20.6% growth momentum in August. Taiko and Scroll also grew by 7.0% and 7.4% respectively. In contrast, Blast's TVL declined by 18.9%, exacerbating its 18.8% drop in August.
Data source: Ethereum Layer 2 Overview - Rollups (Canonically Bridged Metrics) in September 2024
The Ethereum ecosystem has been under strict scrutiny from the community regarding innovation and development. In response, Vitalik Buterin has been actively engaging on social media, addressing these concerns and outlining future development directions.
One important dynamic is Vitalik Buterin's announcement on the X platform that starting from 2025, he will "only publicly mention (in blogs, talks, etc.) L2s that have reached Stage 1 or above" as per the proposed milestones. This indicates a higher standard for Ethereum Rollups solutions, emphasizing the necessity for Layer 2 solutions to reach "Stage 1" by next year. To meet this benchmark, Rollups must improve decentralization and security, including operational fraud proofs or validity proof schemes.
Currently, only two Rollups have reached "Stage 2": DeGate and Fuel. Three others have reached "Stage 1": Arbitrum One, Optimism, and dYdX V3. This classification sets high standards for projects within the ecosystem. This classification highlights the continuous evolution and maturity of the Ethereum Layer 2 ecosystem, clearly prioritizing security and decentralization as key priorities for future development and recognition.
Blockchain Games
In September, the number of active games across blockchain networks increased to 1,563, a growth of 4.5% compared to August. The market leadership remained stable, with BNB Chain, Polygon, and Ethereum accounting for 22.0%, 18.6%, and 14.8% of the total game count, respectively.
Data source: Blockchain Games Active on Different Chains
The landscape of Daily Active Users (DAU) has seen significant changes, with opBNB, Ronin, and Nebula (a SKALE subnet) emerging as the best-performing chains, with average DAUs of 1.1 million, 1.1 million, and 458,000, respectively. As of the end of September, these chains' DAU shares were 28.2%, 20.1%, and 9.2%, respectively.
Data source: Daily Active Users on Different Blockchain Games
opBNB exhibited significant growth, with its average DAU in September surging by 62.0% compared to August, and its market share increasing from 22.4% to 28.2% within the month. This growth was driven not only by the popular game SERAPH: In The Darkness but also by the launch of the new game Elfin Metaverse, an esports gaming platform and open-world metaverse, in mid-September.
In contrast, Ronin's DAU share continued to decline, from 29.5% in August to 20.1% in September. This trend is primarily attributed to the declining performance of Pixels, whose DAU dropped from over 700,000 to 470,000 within the month. It is noteworthy that although Ronin's average DAU in August was nearly double that of opBNB, opBNB surpassed Ronin in September, marking a significant shift in the competitive landscape.
Sui's average daily DAU grew by 48.4% to 92,000, driven by the success of the Telegram game BIRDS, which attracted a large user base in its first week of launch. This achievement highlights the trend of blockchain leveraging Telegram for user acquisition.
For more blockchain gaming industry trends, please read the report "Blockchain Gaming Report September 2024: Industry Recovery, Telegram Games Spark Enthusiasm".
Funding Situation
In September 2024, funding activities in the public chain sector heated up, with a total of 11 funding events, amounting to $170 million, a 47.3% increase compared to August. Among these, three funding events did not disclose the specific amounts.
Blockchain Fundraising Events in September 2024 (Data source: crypto-fundraising.info)
Two major events drove the surge in fundraising this month.
The Celestia Foundation announced that it had raised $100 million in a funding round led by Bain Capital Crypto, bringing its total funding to $155 million. Celestia, launched in 2023, has a unique architecture that separates consensus and data availability from the execution layer, providing greater flexibility for Layer 2 Rollup developers. However, the fundraising announcement has raised questions in the community, with concerns about "pumping and dumping" being voiced, and some arguing that the announced $100 million fundraise was "actually an OTC token sale from a few months ago".
Another significant move was the $30 million strategic investment by Bitget and Foresight Ventures in the TON blockchain. The investment aims to strengthen Telegram-based projects, particularly "tap-to-earn" style games like Hamster Kombat and Notcoin.
Additionally, three Layer 1 blockchains announced new funding rounds this month: Initia, Octra, and Aptos. Layer 2 solutions continue to attract investor interest, with funding going to Bitcoin Layer 2 Zulu Network, Ethereum Layer 2 RISE Chain, Kroma, and t1 protocol, as well as Hemi Network and AminoChain.
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The content of this article is for industry research and exchange purposes only and does not constitute any investment advice. The market has risks, and investments require caution.
About Footprint Analytics
Footprint Analytics is a comprehensive blockchain data analysis platform that simplifies complex analysis for enterprises and projects in the Web3 ecosystem. It provides customized solutions, eliminating the need for extensive specialized knowledge and infrastructure maintenance. The platform offers tools aimed at helping to gradually build and manage long-term community growth, emphasizing sustainable growth and user loyalty. By combining powerful analytics tools and community management tools, Footprint Analytics enables projects to effectively leverage blockchain data for decision-making and growth strategies, covering areas such as GameFi, Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs), and Decentralized Finance (DeFi).
