Author: Stella L (stella@footprint.network)
Data source: Footprint Analytics public chain research page
Sixteen years after Satoshi Nakamoto published the Bitcoin white paper on October 31, 2008, Bitcoin once again demonstrated its revolutionary impact on the financial world. In October 2024, driven by strong institutional investor interest, Bitcoin approached its historical highs, while the entire blockchain ecosystem continued to evolve rapidly. This month highlighted a clear market differentiation, with Bitcoin leading the market up 15.9%, Ethereum experiencing more moderate gains, and both networks' Layer 2 solutions continuing to improve and expand. Meanwhile, emerging public chains like Sui are gaining momentum and are about to break into the top ten public chains.
The data for this report comes from Footprint Analytics' public chain research page, which provides an easy-to-use dashboard containing the most critical statistics and metrics in the public chain space, updated in real-time.
Market overview
In October 2024, the market showed significant differentiation, with Bitcoin leading while other cryptocurrencies had relatively moderate gains. Bitcoin performed excellently, rising from $60,764 to $70,398, an increase of 15.9%, and reached a recent high of $72,751 on October 29, nearing the historical peak from March. In contrast, Ethereum's performance was more subdued, with a monthly increase of 2.7%, closing at $2,519.
Data source: Bitcoin and Ethereum price trends
Several macroeconomic factors influenced market trends this month. Global currency market fluctuations, particularly the strengthening of the U.S. dollar against major currencies including the Chinese yuan, affected the flow of funds in the cryptocurrency market. This change occurred against the backdrop of rising bond yields and increasing gold prices, reflecting a shift in global market risk appetite.
Political factors increasingly influence market sentiment, with the upcoming U.S. election becoming a crucial market driver. Investors are positioning themselves ahead of potential policy changes, accelerating Bitcoin's gains as the market closely watches the impact of different election outcomes on digital asset regulation and broader financial policies.
Institutional participation remains a significant driving force in the market, evidenced by substantial inflows into Bitcoin exchange-traded products (ETPs). This trend highlights the growing recognition of digital assets as a strategic investment tool among institutional investors, even as they become more cautious in their investment positioning.
Regulatory dynamics continue to influence market patterns. The FBI's investigation into NexFundAI tokens through 'sting operations' marks a significant milestone, leading to market manipulation charges against three cryptocurrency companies and 15 individuals. Meanwhile, Crypto.com's legal battle with the SEC underscores the ongoing tension between industry participants and regulators.
Layer 1
In October 2024, the total market capitalization of blockchain cryptocurrencies grew by 6.7% to $2.0 trillion, with Bitcoin's market dominance increasing from 67.3% in September to 70.1%. Meanwhile, Ethereum's share continued to decline from 16.8% to 15.3%, while BNB Chain and Solana's shares remained relatively stable at 4.2% and 4.0%, respectively.
Data source: Public chain token market capitalization
Market growth has been primarily driven by the strong performance of mature tokens, with Bitcoin leading the way, followed by significant increases in Bitcoin Cash (12.9%) and Litecoin (9.5%). Solana maintains its status as one of the best-performing altcoins, rising 17.6%. Meanwhile, the emerging blockchain Sui continues its upward momentum with an increase of 11.5%.
Data source: Public chain token prices and market capitalization
Sui's market capitalization ranking has risen to 11th place. By capitalizing on meme coin trends and Telegram-based gaming opportunities, Sui has significantly expanded its DeFi ecosystem. The launch of native USDC on Sui by Circle in October marks another milestone in its development. However, this growth has not been without controversy—allegations of 'Sui insiders dumping $400 million in tokens' in October, though denied by the Sui Foundation, sparked community discussions.
The DeFi sector faced headwinds in October, with total TVL declining by 6.8% to $63.5 billion. While the Bitcoin ecosystem performed strongly, the Ethereum ecosystem's DeFi segment struggled. Notably, Polygon was an exception, with its TVL increasing by 30.3%, largely due to heightened activity as the U.S. presidential election approached, driving Polymarket to set records.
Data source: Public chain TVL
Stablecoins continue to showcase their key role in the crypto ecosystem. Bitwise Research's 2024 Q3 crypto market review reveals that global stablecoin trading volume exceeded $5.1 trillion in the first half of 2024, nearing Visa's $6.5 trillion trading volume. Tether's profitability surpassing BlackRock highlights the financial impact in this area, intensifying competition among public chains to launch stablecoins.
Bitcoin Layer 2 & Sidechains
In October 2024, Bitcoin Layer 2 and sidechains continued to maintain strong growth, with total TVL reaching $1.8 billion, a 22.2% increase from September.
Core maintains industry leadership, with TVL growing by 29.8% to $570 million, holding a market share of 32.4%. Bitlayer solidified its position, with TVL increasing by 36.1% to $530 million, capturing 29.9% of the market share. Rootstock ranks third with a TVL of $180 million and a 10.1% market share, while BSquared has emerged, with TVL reaching $170 million, a monthly growth of 54.4%, surpassing Merlin to rise to fourth place.
Data source: Bitcoin ecosystem public chain TVL
October witnessed significant technological breakthroughs in the Bitcoin Layer 2 ecosystem. BEVM launched the innovative 'Super Bitcoin' framework, proposing a comprehensive solution to expand its functionalities while maintaining the foundational security of Bitcoin.
The framework proposes a five-layer architecture based on the Bitcoin network, utilizing its proven PoW consensus to ensure security. Building upward, it integrates Lightning Network technology for efficient communication, Taproot consensus for standardization, and a multi-chain integration layer supporting various virtual machines. This architecture ultimately forms the application layer, enabling developers to build DApps while leveraging Bitcoin's security.
In a significant initiative connecting the Bitcoin and Ethereum ecosystems, the BOB network announced integration with Optimism's 'Super Chain.' As a self-proclaimed 'hybrid layer-2' solution, BOB aims to create a seamless connection between Bitcoin and Ethereum, placing Bitcoin at the center of the DeFi space.
Cross-chain functionality has advanced further with the integration of Cardano and BitcoinOS (BOS). This collaboration aims to provide established public chain Cardano users with direct, trustless access to Bitcoin liquidity.
Additionally, BTCFi continues its impressive growth trajectory, particularly with Babylon's Bitcoin staking program Cap-2. This program showcases significant efficiency, attracting 23,000 Bitcoin while incurring only 1.56 BTC in minimal fees. This successful deployment highlights the market's strong demand for Bitcoin-based financial products.
Ethereum Layer 2
In October 2024, Ethereum Layer 2 solutions achieved moderate growth, with the total TVL for standardized bridging reaching $19.8 billion, a 1.2% increase from September, significantly lagging behind the growth rate of Bitcoin scaling solutions. The competitive landscape continues to evolve, with established leaders maintaining dominance but losing market share, while newcomers are making good progress.
Market leaders Arbitrum One and Optimism maintained their positions with market shares of 45.3% and 17.8%, respectively, although both experienced slight declines. Base saw significant growth, with its market share expanding from 8.1% to 13.4%, and TVL increasing by 28.5%. This growth is primarily attributed to Coinbase's smart wallet, which simplified dApp interactions and attracted substantial inflows in lending, derivatives, and DEX protocols. Base's native DEX Aerodrome performed excellently in this expansion.
Data source: September 2024 Ethereum Layer 2 Overview - Rollups (Bridging Related Metrics)
Several new entrants have made a significant impact. Fuel Ignition and World Chain saw substantial TVL growth following their mainnet launches, while Taiko's TVL increased by 20.8% driven by successful pushes from Panko Finance and Avalon Finance.
However, Scroll's TVL dropped by 39.6% after its airdrop. Its airdrop activity faced community controversy over the allocation plan, similar to previous cases with zkSync and Starknet, where activity significantly declined following the airdrop, and its token price fell over 50% from the issuance price.
In addition to market indicators, the industry has also strengthened its focus on fundamental challenges within the ecosystem, particularly regarding user experience and interoperability.
Vitalik Buterin has actively engaged in addressing community concerns, publishing a series of comprehensive articles exploring the future direction of Ethereum. He released several posts on social media, particularly emphasizing that cross-Layer 2 interoperability is a key development priority. The roadmap he submitted outlines improvements aimed at unifying the Ethereum ecosystem through the standardization of chain-specific addresses, a unified payment request system, and cross-Layer 2 integration of key storage wallets. These enhancements aim to streamline cross-chain asset transfers while reducing gas fees for cross-Layer 2 transactions.
Despite ongoing challenges, Ethereum's Layer 2 ecosystem continues to attract significant projects and developments. October witnessed several notable mainnet launches. World Network (formerly Worldcoin) went live, bringing its privacy-focused identity solution to the mainnet. Yuga Labs' ApeChain launched, developing NFT applications leveraging Ethereum's security, while Eclipse and Fuel Ignition completed mainnet deployments, adding new scaling solutions to the ecosystem.
Another significant development came from Uniswap Labs, which announced plans for Unichain, a new Layer 2 network built on the Optimism OP Stack. Given Uniswap's dominant position in the DeFi space, this announcement sparked considerable industry discussion. Following major participants like Coinbase's Base and Sony's Soniem, the launch of Unichain's testnet signals a potential shift in the competitive dynamics of Layer 2, with future competition intensifying over liquidity and gas fees.
Unichain
Blockchain gaming public chain
In October 2024, the blockchain gaming sector recorded 1,606 active games, with BNB Chain, Polygon, and Ethereum dominating game distribution. OpBNB led user engagement with an average of 1.2 million daily active users (DAU), followed by Ronin (886,000 DAU) and Matchain (548,000 DAU).
Data source: Proportion of active blockchain games across various public chains
Matchain achieved a significant breakthrough in October, surging from an average of 78 daily active users (DAU) in September to 548,000 DAU through Telegram-based gaming. The chain peaked at 3.3 million users on October 12 before stabilizing at around 615,000 users by the end of the month, demonstrating the potential and volatility of Telegram-based user acquisition strategies.
Sui and Core demonstrate strong growth, with DAUs increasing by 105.1% to 190,000 and 75.7% to 109,000, respectively, both leveraging Telegram-based initiatives. At the same time, TON's DAU decreased by 27.7% to 195,000, despite its groundbreaking Telegram-based strategy inspiring the adoption of several public chains, including Sei, Ancient8, and Viction. However, user retention remains a common challenge faced by the entire industry.
For more data insights, please refer to the (October 2024 Blockchain Gaming Research Report: Latest Trends in Active Users and On-Chain Gaming Ecosystem).
Financing situation
In October 2024, the blockchain sector recorded 12 fundraising events, amounting to $104 million, a 40.1% decrease from September's $174 million, with three events not disclosing specific funding amounts.
October 2024 public chain fundraising events (Data source: crypto-fundraising.info)
The privacy-focused blockchain project Nillion became the largest fundraising recipient in October, raising $25 million in a funding round led by Hack VC. The project's innovative 'blind computing' method allows data to be processed without exposing its content, enabling applications to collaborate while maintaining data privacy. This groundbreaking technology positions Nillion at the intersection of privacy protection and decentralized computing, catering to the growing demand for secure data processing in Web3 applications.
After securing a $30 million investment from Bitget and Foresight Ventures in September, TON continued its fundraising momentum. In October, TON received additional support from Gate.io.
Layer 2 solutions continue to attract investor attention, spanning the Bitcoin and Ethereum ecosystems. Bitcoin Layer 2 platforms Bitlayer and B² Network successfully completed a new round of financing, while the Ethereum Layer 2 space saw funds directed toward innovative projects, including Ithaca, Semantic Layer, Sophon, and LAYER.
