Key margin notes from @1kxnetwork’s 2025 Onchain Revenue Report:
• Onchain fees hit ~$20B in 2025 and are on track for $32B+ in 2026, driven almost entirely by applications, not blockchains.
• Blockchains lost the business model & apps won it.
L1/L2 fees collapsed ~95% due to efficiency, yet usage exploded. Value shifted decisively from base layers to DEXs, perps, lending, wallets, RWAs, DePIN.
• Only ~100 protocols actually matter.
Out of 1,100+ fee-generating protocols, most won’t survive once incentives dry up. The winners share one trait: users pay because the product is better, not because tokens subsidize usage.
• Incentives are dying & cash flow is replacing them.
Apps cut incentive spend from ~90% of fees (2021) to <3% (2025). Despite lower total fees, token holder distributions hit all-time highs via buybacks and burns.
• RWAs, DePIN, wallets = the growth engine for 2026.
These sectors are compounding >200% YoY and are projected to hit $1B+ combined fees next year, fueled by regulation + real-world demand.
• Valuation mismatch is getting extreme.
Blockchains hold ~90% of market cap but generate ~12% of fees. Apps are cheap relative to cash flow – something has to mean-revert.
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