With a bull market in hand, 2024 is an exciting year for Layer 1 (L1) blockchains, with token prices soaring over 7000% since January. In the rapidly evolving crypto space, some surprising tokens have emerged as the top performers this year. Let's take a look at the biggest L1 winners and losers of 2024.
Author: Prem Reginald
Translation: Blockchain in Plain Language
Inspired by Donald Trump's presidential election victory, the cryptocurrency market in 2024 shows a vertical growth trend. As a platform for decentralized applications (dApps) and smart contracts, the demand for Layer 1 solutions has surged, with fierce competition among major Layer 1 blockchains for top positions. However, they face strong challenges from Layer 2 (L2) solutions, which aim to enhance transaction speeds at very low costs to compete with established blockchains like Ethereum.
1. Which Layer 1 Tokens Perform the Best?
Among the best-performing tokens, Mantra (OM) has achieved unprecedented growth, surging 7,035.2%. This spike is partially attributed to Mantra's partnership with Zand, a digital bank based in the UAE. Zand has tokenized real-world assets (RWA) by complying with the Dubai Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA). Furthermore, the demand for RWA products continues to grow, with traditional financial institutions introducing money market funds and bonds to the blockchain.
2. Other Outstanding Tokens
AIOZ Network (AIOZ) is another standout performer, growing 427.6% year-to-date (YTD). The platform's decentralized content delivery network has gained increasing adoption driven by ongoing ecosystem optimization. Sui (SUI) is also in the top three, with a YTD growth of 388.2%, benefiting from rapid developments within its ecosystem, including innovative dApp launches leveraging its high scalability and developer-friendly features.
Other noteworthy performers include:
Bellscoin (BELLS): 252.2% Growth
Zano (ZANO): 159% Growth
Toncoin (TON): 136.2% Growth, successfully hosting dApps and launching 'click to earn' games through integration with Telegram.
3. The Top Ten Layer 1 Tokens by Market Cap Show Moderate Growth
Although mid- and small-cap Layer 1 tokens have performed astonishingly, larger tokens like Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana remain solid investment choices.
Bitcoin (BTC) realized an annual growth of 112.9%.
Ethereum (ETH) grew 34.9%, but underperformed compared to its peers. With the rise of new Layer 2 and other blockchains, Ethereum's dominance has been declining year by year, despite the launch of a spot Ethereum ETF in the US. Nonetheless, Ethereum still outperformed the S&P 500 index, which rose 24.8% in 2024.
Solana (SOL): Rising from the Ashes
Solana (SOL) has risen from the shadows of the FTX bankruptcy in 2022, growing 134.3% year-to-date. Most of this increase occurred in 2023, driven by the memecoin frenzy, with prices soaring from $15 to $120. This trend has also extended to other blockchains, such as Tron Network (TRX), which has grown 85.5% this year.
Meanwhile, Toncoin (TON) recorded an astonishing 136.2% growth, primarily due to its ability to host dApps on the popular messaging app Telegram. The 'click to earn' gaming model has become extremely popular on Telegram, further driving its growth.
Sui: The Most Eye-Catching Performer
Sui has been the standout performer this year, with a growth of 338.2%. This increase is mainly attributed to rising investor interest, increased on-chain activity, and enhanced utility brought about by significant dApp expansion. Additionally, Circle's USDC has been integrated into the network, and there has been a trend of funds moving from Ethereum to Sui.
4. Largest Declines
On the other hand, some tokens have seen declines as high as -96% year-to-date.
Entangle (NGL) performed the worst, down -95.3% YTD.
Following closely are Kujira (KUJI) and Trias Lab (TRIAS), down -86.7% and -83.4%, respectively.
NGL was issued at a high valuation in March 2024, and since then, its price has continued to decline. Kujira's performance has been affected by the team's high-risk leveraged liquidity positions, which backfired during market volatility.
5. How are Layer 1 Tokens Issued in 2024 Performing?
Various Layer 1 cryptocurrencies launched in 2024 have shown mixed performances, reflecting the challenges of breaking through in a highly competitive market.
Aleo (ALEO) launched in September and has declined -58.1% since its issuance.
Saga (SAGA) launched in April, facing a similar predicament, down -69.9% year-to-date.
Omni Network (OMNI), also launched in April, is down -68.8%.
Zeta Chain (ZETA) was issued in February and has declined -57.3% so far.
Router Protocol (ROUTE) and the performance of other new projects
Router Protocol (ROUTE) launched in July, with a price drop of 24.8%, while Ice Open Network (ICE) has seen a relatively small decline of 34.5% since its activation in January. Meanwhile, Kaia (KAIA), which entered the market no later than the end of October, achieved a slight positive growth of 5.2%. These performances reflect the volatility of new Layer 1 projects and the importance of continuous innovation and user adoption for gaining market recognition.
6. Top Ten Layer 1 Projects Ranked by Price Performance
Note: YTD is an abbreviation for Year-to-Date, meaning 'year to date.' It is typically used to describe the performance of a metric (such as returns, price changes, or performance) over a period from the beginning of the year (usually January 1) to the current date.
7. Conclusion
In 2024, the Layer 1 blockchain space has shown diverse performances. Mantra leads with an impressive year-to-date (YTD) increase of 7035%, thanks to its strategic partnerships and cutting-edge blockchain use cases. Established players like Bitcoin, Solana, and Toncoin have shown steady performance, demonstrating their robust vitality in a changing market. Meanwhile, newly issued tokens face significant challenges, often struggling due to starting at overvalued levels.
As competition between Layer 1 and Layer 2 solutions intensifies, a focus on scalability, utility, and compliance will determine the emergence of the next wave of winners, which is particularly important in this rapidly changing cryptocurrency market.
Note: This study analyzed the price returns of the top 100 cryptocurrencies sorted by market cap in the Layer 1 category on CoinGecko. The YTD return data covers performance from January 1, 2024, to November 18. These data reflect a snapshot of the market, illustrating the performance differences among various coins in a broader market environment.
Link to the article: https://www.hellobtc.com/kp/du/11/5563.html
Source: https://www.coingecko.com/research/publications/layer-1-blockchains-price-returns?utm_campaign=Data%20Visualization&utm_source=x&utm_medium=social
