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2024 saw a strong resurgence in the L1 space, with several high-performance chains gaining significant momentum. Solana’s TVL surged to ~ $9.5 Bn, while the TVL of Sui, & Aptos surpassed ~ $1 Bn. TON witnessed remarkable adoption driven by Telegram mini-apps and new entrants like Monad and Berachain raised ~ $225 Mn and ~ $100 Mn respectively.
For more such detailed insights, read our in-depth “Crypto Outlook 2025” report.
Solana: The Resilient Leader
Solana had a breakout year in 2024, solidifying its position as a top Layer 1 blockchain. The network’s TVL surged from ~ $1.5 Bn to over ~ $9.5 Bn, a growth driven by strong DeFi participation and massive airdrops from projects like Jupiter, Tensor, and Drift, which collectively distributed ~ $1 Bn.
Solana’s innovations, such as the rollout of the Firedancer client and Token Extensions, drastically improved its scalability and transaction speed, attracting significant developer interest.
The network’s DeFi ecosystem matured with new stablecoin integrations, and on-chain activity increased as Solana became a popular home for speculation, especially in meme-coin trading. Solana’s push for L2 solutions, like Zeta Market’s Bullet, was a key highlight, adding to the ecosystem’s potential for scalability.
Solana positioned itself as one of the most performant and developer-friendly blockchains, attracting ~ $173 Mn in funding during Q3 alone, its strongest quarter since the FTX collapse.
Other Layer 1s: The New Contenders
While Solana dominated the spotlight, other Layer 1s like Sui, Aptos, and TON also had remarkable years in 2024 with Sui and Aptos surpassing ~ $1 Bn in TVL. Sui focused on enhancing its consensus through the Mysteciti upgrade, while Aptos pushed forward with its Raptr proposal, targeting performance improvements.
TON, with its integration with Telegram, reached impressive milestones in mobile gaming, with its TVL peaking at over ~ $700 Mn, primarily driven by DEXs and GameFi projects like Notcoin and Hamster Kombat. The network’s ability to reach mainstream audiences through Telegram’s existing user base proved to be a key driver in its adoption, although its growth slowed in the latter half of the year.
Emerging L1s like Monad and Sonic showcased impressive transaction throughput capabilities of over ~ 10K TPS. Monad raised ~ $225 Mn, while Sonic amassed ~ $250 Mn in FTM tokens, positioning them to compete aggressively with Solana in the high-performance blockchain space. Further, Berachain introduced a unique Proof of Liquidity consensus mechanism, attracting developer interest from over ~ 270 projects and raised $100 Mn in Series B funding.
2025 Outlook: A Competitive Year Ahead
Looking into 2025, Solana’s momentum is expected to continue, driven by the full implementation of the Firedancer client and the expanding Network Extensions ecosystem. The introduction of Solana-native L2 solutions and more AI integrations could further solidify Solana’s position as the go-to blockchain for performance-centric applications.
With a growing institutional interest, evidenced by the filing of SOL spot ETFs, Solana is well-positioned to benefit from increased liquidity and adoption, especially in DeFi and AI-driven use cases. Sui and Aptos are expected to give a tough competition to Solana as they further refine their consensus mechanisms to enhance scalability and performance.
The competitive landscape in 2025 will also be defined by the ability of new Layer 1s like Monad, Sonic, and Berachain to challenge Solana’s dominance. These L1s are likely to continue to focus on scalability and transaction throughput, with a strong emphasis on reducing latency and improving developer tools.
Lastly, cross-chain interoperability efforts, such as Celestia’s Lazybridging proposal and Avail’s Nexus ZK proof verification layer, hold significant potential to drive meaningful network effects for modular Layer 1s in the latter half of 2025.
Why Check Out Our Full Report?
Our comprehensive report, “Crypto Outlook 2025”, provides an in-depth analysis of the evolving crypto landscape. It features deep insights into key verticals, & emerging narratives, along with expert opinion on different sectors.
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