By: Stella L (stella@footprint.network)

Data source: Footprint Analytics public chain research page

September 2024 saw significant growth in the blockchain industry, with the cryptocurrency market performing strongly thanks to a favorable macroeconomic environment and regulatory developments. Bitcoin’s Layer 2 performance is eye-catching, and its growth rate exceeds that of Ethereum Layer 2. In the Layer 1 field, Sui entered the top 15 by market capitalization for the first time and became the focus of attention. The Ethereum ecosystem is under scrutiny, sparking discussions about future development standards, while at the same time Bitcoin’s Layer 2 TVL (Total Value Locked) has seen a significant increase.

The data for this report comes from Footprint Analytics' public chain research page. This page provides an easy-to-use dashboard that contains the most critical statistics and indicators for understanding the public chain field and is updated in real time.

Market Overview

The crypto market showed strong performance in September. Bitcoin opened at $57,429 and closed at $63,485 at the end of the month, achieving a 10.5% increase. Ethereum, while performing positively, still fell short of Bitcoin. Ether started at $2,426 and ended at $2,603, a gain of 7.3%. Notably, the ETH/BTC price ratio hit a new cycle low of 0.0386 in mid-September.

Data source: Bitcoin and Ethereum price trends

Several key factors contributed to this positive market sentiment:

• Monetary policy shift: On September 18, the U.S. Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) unexpectedly implemented a larger-than-expected 50 basis point rate cut. Later in the month, Chinese policymakers implemented macro stimulus measures, which provided support to global stock markets.

• Regulatory progress: The U.S. regulatory environment shows signs of improvement. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved the listing application of spot Bitcoin ETP (Exchange Traded Product) options, and more similar applications are expected to be approved.

• Institutional Adoption: Bank of New York appears poised to offer custody services for crypto assets, a move that could further solidify crypto’s legitimacy in the financial sector.

• Political Support: There have also been positive changes in the political context. Former US President Trump announced a new decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol, and Vice President Harris also made remarks in support of digital assets and blockchain technology.

Layer 1

In September 2024, the total market value of blockchain cryptocurrencies reached $1.9 trillion, up 6.9% from August. Market dominance is still occupied by Bitcoin (67.3%), Ethereum (16.8%), BNB Chain (4.5%) and Solana (3.9%). Bitcoin and BNB Chain maintained their respective market shares, while Ethereum's market share fell by 0.6% in absolute terms, and Solana rose by 0.3%.

Data source: Public chain token market value

Among the top 15 public chains by market capitalization, Sui performed well, with a market capitalization increase of 132.2%, entering the list for the first time and ranking 13th.

Data source: Public chain token price and market value at the end of September 2024

The total TVL in the DeFi space reached $68.1 billion, up 6.4% from August, with Sui’s TVL increasing by 67.4%.

Data source: TVL of public chains at the end of September 2024

September was a breakthrough month for Sui, thanks to the Sui Foundation’s efforts to incentivize dApp development. NAVI Protocol in the DeFi space and the Telegram game BIRDS provided a significant boost to on-chain activity.

At the TOKEN2049 conference in Singapore, Vitalik Buterin highlighted the evolution of cryptocurrencies from their infancy to usability and highlighted the industry’s progress towards mass adoption. The following trends are evident in this direction:

Web3 games continue to be a key driver of blockchain mass adoption. Several networks, including TON, BNB Chain, Sui, and Aptos, have leveraged the Telegram ecosystem to expand their user base.

Stablecoins and their financial applications have gained momentum. Celo’s success in Africa showcased the potential of stablecoins in emerging markets, while Sui announced the upcoming integration of Circle’s native USDC.

Efforts to lower barriers to entry have intensified. BNB Chain launched a “Gas Free Season”, offering zero-gas fee options on certain transactions. Solana launched its Web3 smartphone terminal Solana Seeker, while Ronin launched Ronin Waypoint, a universal account and keyless wallet for its ecosystem.

These developments highlight the industry’s commitment to improving user experience and expanding the impact of blockchain in various fields and among different groups of people.

Bitcoin Layer 2

In September 2024, Bitcoin Layer 2 (including sidechains) TVL increased significantly, reaching $1.5 billion, an increase of 33% from August. Core is the leader in the field with 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 Public Chain TVL

Core performed particularly well, with TVL up more than 100% from August. This surge was largely driven by the launch of Core Ignition Drop Season 2, which expanded to include Web3 games in addition to BTCFi, significantly boosting on-chain activity. As a result, Core surpassed Bitlayer to become the largest Bitcoin scaling solution by TVL, although Bitlayer also saw a healthy 9.4% TVL growth.

Rootstock maintained its steady growth momentum, with a 12.5% ​​increase in TVL, continuing to rank third. Other noteworthy performers include BSquared (TVL increased by 42.8%), Stacks (up 26.5%), and BEVM (up 6.3%).

Looking ahead, Bitcoin staking protocol Babylon announced that Mainnet Phase-1 Cap-2 will be launched in the second week of October. The rapid staking of 1,000 BTC during Cap-1 has created high anticipation for the launch of Cap-2.

Solv Protocol expands its Bitcoin staking ecosystem, offering new options for cbBTC holders on Base and launching the high-yield SolvBTC.BBN pool in partnership with Pendle. The platform integrates with multiple DeFi protocols, bringing its total integration count to 35 blockchains and protocols. Leveraging Chainlink’s cross-chain technology and expanding to Avalanche and Base, Solv now operates on 9 blockchains. These developments, including becoming the first Bitcoin staking protocol in the Base ecosystem, highlight Solv’s increasingly important role in expanding Bitcoin DeFi opportunities across multiple chains.

Ethereum Layer 2

In September 2024, the TVL of Ethereum Layer 2 reached US$23.2 billion (the canonically bridged part), an increase of 8.31% from August, but this growth rate is not as large as that of Bitcoin Layer 2.

Arbitrum One, Optimism, and Base continue to dominate the TVL market share, with 48.8%, 19.7%, and 8.1%, respectively, with little change from last month. However, their total market share has slightly decreased, indicating the growth of other Ethereum Layer 2 solutions.

DeGate continued to perform strongly, with a 17.9% increase in TVL in September, continuing its 20.6% growth in August. Taiko and Scroll also grew by 7.0% and 7.4%, respectively. In contrast, Blast's TVL fell by 18.9%, exacerbating its 18.8% drop in August.

Data source: Ethereum Layer 2 Overview in September 2024 - Rollups (Bridge-related Indicators)

The Ethereum ecosystem has come under intense scrutiny from the community regarding innovation and development. In response, Vitalik Buterin has been active on social media, addressing these concerns and outlining a future direction.

One important development was Vitalik Buterin’s announcement on the X platform that starting in 2025, he will “only publicly mention (in blogs, speeches, etc.) L2s that have reached Stage 1 and above.” This demonstrates a higher bar for Ethereum Rollups solutions, emphasizing the need for Layer 2 solutions to reach “Stage 1” next year. To reach 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 a high bar for projects within the ecosystem. This classification highlights the continued evolution and maturity of the Ethereum Layer 2 ecosystem, clearly identifying security and decentralization as key priorities for future development and recognition.

Blockchain Games

In September, the number of active games on various blockchain networks increased to 1,563, up 4.5% from August. Market dominance remained stable, with BNB Chain, Polygon, and Ethereum accounting for 22.0%, 18.6%, and 14.8% of the number of games, respectively.

Data source: Proportion of active blockchain games on each public chain

The DAU landscape has changed significantly, with opBNB, Ronin, and Nebula (SKALE subnet) becoming the best-performing chains, with average daily 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 of various public chain blockchain games

opBNB has shown significant growth, with its average DAU in September surging 62.0% from August, and market share increasing from 22.4% to 28.2% during the month. This growth was driven not only by the hit game SERAPH: In The Darkness, but also by the launch of a new game in mid-September, Elfin Metaverse, an esports gaming platform and open-world metaverse.

In contrast, Ronin’s DAU share continued to decline, from 29.5% in August to 20.1% in September. This trend is mainly attributed to the decline in Pixels, whose DAU dropped from over 700,000 to 470,000 during the month. It is worth noting that although Ronin’s average DAU in August was almost twice that of opBNB, opBNB surpassed Ronin in September, marking an important shift in the competitive landscape.

Sui’s average daily DAU increased by 48.4% to 92,000, thanks to the success of the Telegram game BIRDS, which attracted a large number of users in its first week. This performance highlights the trend of blockchain using Telegram for user acquisition.

Financing

In September 2024, financing activities in the public chain sector heated up, with a total of 11 financing events, totaling US$170 million, an increase of 47.3% from August. Among them, the specific amounts of three financing events were not disclosed.

Public chain financing events in September 2024 (data source: crypto-fundraising.info)

Two major events drove the surge in funding this month.

The Celestia Foundation announced that it has raised $100 million in a 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 funding announcement has sparked questions from the community, with questions about "pump and dump" and the view that the $100 million in funding announced "was actually an OTC token sale a few months ago."

Another major move was a $30 million strategic investment in the TON blockchain by Bitget and Foresight Ventures. The investment is intended to strengthen Telegram-based projects, especially “tap-to-earn” games such as Hamster Kombat and Notcoin.

Additionally, three other layer 1 blockchains announced new funding rounds this month: Initia, Octra, and Aptos. Layer 2 solutions continue to attract investor interest, with Bitcoin layer 2 Zulu Network and Ethereum layer 2 RISE Chain, Kroma, and t1 protocol, in addition to Hemi Network and AminoChain, all receiving funding.