Bitcoin Layer 2 TVL surges, Sui enters the top 15. Ethereum faces scrutiny as the Layer 2 landscape continues to evolve.

Written by: Stella L

Data source: Footprint Analytics public chain research page

In September 2024, the blockchain industry experienced significant growth, driven by favorable macroeconomic conditions and regulatory advancements, leading to a strong performance in the cryptocurrency market. Bitcoin's Layer 2 performance was particularly impressive, outpacing Ethereum's Layer 2 growth. In the Layer 1 space, Sui made its debut in the top 15 by market capitalization, becoming a focal point. The Ethereum ecosystem is under scrutiny, sparking discussions about future development standards, while Bitcoin Layer 2's TVL (Total Value Locked) saw a notable increase.

This report's data is sourced 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

The cryptocurrency market showed strong performance in September. Bitcoin opened at $57,429 and closed at $63,485 by the end of the month, achieving a 10.5% increase. While Ethereum also performed positively, it still lagged behind Bitcoin. Ether started at $2,426 and ended at $2,603, with a 7.3% increase. Notably, in mid-September, the ETH/BTC price ratio hit a new cycle low of 0.0386.

Data source: Bitcoin and Ether 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 50 basis point rate cut, exceeding expectations. Later in the month, Chinese policymakers enacted macroeconomic stimulus measures, providing support for global stock markets.
• Regulatory progress: The U.S. regulatory environment showed signs of improvement. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved the listing application for a spot Bitcoin ETP (Exchange-Traded Product), with expectations for more similar applications to be approved.
• Institutional adoption: The Bank of New York Mellon appears ready to offer cryptocurrency custody services, a move that could further solidify the legitimacy of cryptocurrencies in the financial sector.
• Political support: The political landscape also saw positive changes. Former U.S. President Trump announced a new decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol, and Vice President Harris made statements supporting digital assets and blockchain technology.

Layer 1

In September 2024, the total market capitalization of blockchain cryptocurrencies reached $1.9 trillion, a 6.9% increase from August. The market dominance remained with 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 decreased by 0.6%, and Solana's increased by 0.3%.

Data source: Public chain token market capitalization

Among the top 15 public chains by market capitalization, Sui performed exceptionally well, with a market cap increase of 132.2%, making its debut on the list at 13th place.

Data source: Public chain token prices and market capitalization at the end of September 2024

The total TVL in the DeFi space reached $68.1 billion, a 6.4% increase from August, with Sui's TVL growing by 67.4%.

Data source: Public chain TVL at the end of September 2024

September was a breakthrough month for Sui, thanks to the Sui Foundation's efforts to incentivize dApp development. The NAVI protocol in DeFi and the Telegram game BIRDS significantly boosted on-chain activity.

At the TOKEN2049 conference in Singapore, Vitalik Buterin emphasized the evolution of cryptocurrencies from their nascent stages to usability, highlighting the industry's progress toward mass adoption. The following trends emerged in this direction:

Web3 gaming continues to be a key driver for blockchain mass adoption. Several networks, including TON, BNB Chain, Sui, and Aptos, have expanded their user base by leveraging the Telegram ecosystem.

Stablecoins and their financial applications gained momentum. Celo's success in Africa showcased the potential of stablecoins in emerging markets, while Sui announced plans to integrate Circle's native USDC.

Efforts to lower entry barriers have been 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, while Ronin launched Ronin Waypoint, a universal account and keyless wallet for its ecosystem.

These developments highlight the industry's commitment to enhancing user experience and expanding the influence of blockchain across various fields and demographics.

Bitcoin Layer 2

In September 2024, Bitcoin Layer 2 (including sidechains) TVL saw significant growth, reaching $1.5 billion, a 33% increase from August. Core led the field 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 public chain TVL

Core's performance was particularly outstanding, with its TVL growing by over 100% from August. This surge was primarily driven by the launch of Core Ignition Drop Season 2, which not only included BTCFi but also expanded into Web3 gaming, significantly boosting on-chain activity. As a result, Core surpassed Bitlayer to become the largest Bitcoin scaling solution by TVL, although Bitlayer also achieved a robust 9.4% growth in TVL.

Rootstock maintained a steady growth momentum, with a TVL increase of 12.5%, continuing to hold the third position. Other notable performers included 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 launch in the second week of October. During Cap-1, 1,000 BTC were staked rapidly, generating high expectations for Cap-2's launch.

The Solv protocol expanded its Bitcoin staking ecosystem, providing new options for cbBTC holders on Base and collaborating with Pendle to launch the high-yield SolvBTC.BBN pool. The platform integrated with multiple DeFi protocols, increasing its total integration count to 35 blockchains and protocols. Utilizing Chainlink's cross-chain technology and expanding to Avalanche and Base, Solv is now operational 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, Ethereum Layer 2's TVL reached $23.2 billion (canonically bridged portion), an 8.31% increase from August, but this growth was less than that of Bitcoin Layer 2.

Arbitrum One, Optimism, and Base continued to dominate the TVL market share, accounting for 48.8%, 19.7%, and 8.1%, respectively, with little change from the previous month. However, their total market share slightly declined, indicating growth in other Ethereum Layer 2 solutions.

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

Data source: Ethereum Layer 2 Overview - Rollups (bridging-related metrics) for September 2024

The Ethereum ecosystem is under strict scrutiny regarding innovation and development. In response, Vitalik Buterin actively addressed these concerns on social media, outlining future development directions.

A significant development is 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 indicates a higher standard requirement for Ethereum Rollup solutions, emphasizing the necessity for Layer 2 solutions to achieve "Stage 1" next year. To meet this benchmark, Rollups must enhance 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 achieved "Stage 1": Arbitrum One, Optimism, and dYdX V3. This classification sets high standards for projects within the ecosystem. It highlights the ongoing evolution and maturation of the Ethereum Layer 2 ecosystem, clearly prioritizing security and decentralization as key considerations for future development and recognition.

Blockchain Games

In September, the number of active games across various blockchain networks increased to 1,563, a 4.5% growth from August. The market dominance remained stable, with BNB Chain, Polygon, and Ethereum accounting for 22.0%, 18.6%, and 14.8% of the total number of games, respectively.

Data source: Proportion of active blockchain games across public chains

The landscape of daily active users (DAU) saw significant changes, with opBNB, Ronin, and Nebula (SKALE subnet) emerging as the top-performing chains, averaging 1.1 million, 1.1 million, and 458,000 DAU, respectively. By the end of September, the DAU shares for these chains were 28.2%, 20.1%, and 9.2%.

Data source: Daily active users of blockchain games across public chains

opBNB demonstrated significant growth, with its average DAU in September surging by 62.0% compared to August, increasing its market share from 22.4% to 28.2% during 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 in mid-September, which is an esports platform and open-world metaverse.

In contrast, Ronin's DAU share continued to decline, dropping from 29.5% in August to 20.1% in September. This trend was primarily attributed to the underperformance of Pixels, whose DAU fell from over 700,000 to 470,000 during the month. Notably, although Ronin's average DAU in August was nearly double that of opBNB, in September, opBNB surpassed Ronin, marking a significant shift in the competitive landscape.

Sui's average DAU grew by 48.4% to 92,000, benefiting from the success of the Telegram game BIRDS, which attracted a large number of users in its first week. This achievement underscores the trend of blockchain leveraging Telegram for user acquisition.

For more trends in the blockchain gaming industry, you can read the "September 2024 Blockchain Gaming Research Report: Industry Recovery, Telegram Games Spark a Boom".

Financing Situation

In September 2024, financing activities in the public chain sector heated up, with a total of 11 financing events amounting to $170 million, a 47.3% increase from August. Among these, three financing events did not disclose specific amounts.

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

Two major events drove the surge in financing this month.

The Celestia Foundation announced it raised $100 million in a funding round led by Bain Capital Crypto, bringing its total funding to $155 million. Launched in 2023, Celestia's unique architecture separates consensus and data availability from the execution layer, providing greater flexibility for Layer 2 Rollup developers. However, this funding announcement sparked community skepticism, with concerns about "pump and dump," as some pointed out that the disclosed $100 million funding was "actually an OTC token sale from several months ago."

Another significant move was the strategic investment of $30 million in the TON blockchain by Bitget and Foresight Ventures. This investment aims to strengthen Telegram-based projects, particularly "tap-to-earn" 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 Bitcoin Layer 2 Zulu Network and Ethereum Layer 2 RISE Chain, Kroma, and t1 protocol, along with Hemi Network and AminoChain, all receiving funding support.

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