Analysis of the Public Chain Industry in January 2025: The Dominance of Bitcoin Further Consolidated

In January 2025, the total market capitalization of the crypto market grew to $2.8 trillion, an increase of 7.2%. Major blockchain platforms performed unevenly, as new regulatory policies and breakthroughs in artificial intelligence technology jointly influenced the market landscape, with Bitcoin's market dominance rising to 71.3%.

Market Overview

The price of Bitcoin rose from $94,577 to $102,180, an increase of 8.0%. In contrast, Ethereum performed poorly, dropping from $3,353 to $3,292, a decrease of 1.8%, with the ETH/BTC ratio hitting a near 4-month low.

Significant impacts on the crypto market have resulted from several important policy developments. The new government's cryptocurrency regulatory directives provide clear guidance for the industry, particularly emphasizing the protection of self-custody rights and supporting the development of stablecoins. However, comments at the end of the month regarding international trade tariffs have raised concerns about global economic growth, leading to a cooling of market sentiment.

The specific tokens launched on Solana have caused a significant fluctuation in the Memecoin sector, diverting market attention and funds from other crypto sectors, including the blockchain gaming field.

Breakthrough advancements in the field of artificial intelligence have also influenced market dynamics, accelerating the focus on decentralized AI infrastructure within the crypto ecosystem, with AI-related tokens experiencing an increase this month.

Layer 1 Market Analysis

In January 2025, the total market value of blockchain increased by 7.2% to $2.8 trillion. Bitcoin's market dominance further rose to 71.3%, while Ethereum's share decreased to 14.0%. Solana surpassed the BNB chain with a market share of 4.0% (BNB chain at 3.4%). Other public chains accounted for a total market share of 7.4%.

Solana continues to perform strongly, with a market cap increase of 22.0% to $112.3 billion, solidifying its position as the third largest blockchain. Among the top 20 chains by market cap, Stellar stands out with significant growth. Litecoin and Monero increased by 23.5% and 21.6%, respectively, while Cardano's market cap grew by 11.9% to $33.2 billion.

Emerging platforms maintain their development momentum, with Sui's market capitalization stable at $12.4 billion. Although TON's market capitalization has dropped by 14.0% to $12.0 billion, it still retains a top ten position. Hedera shows good growth, with its market capitalization rising by 14.2% to $11.7 billion.

Traditional Layer 1 platforms such as Polkadot, Near, and Aptos are under pressure, with market capitalization declining between 3.7% and 7.5%.

Bitcoin Layer 2 and Sidechain Development

In January 2025, the total locked value of Bitcoin Layer 2 and sidechains reached $2.6 billion, an increase of 5.2% from the previous month.

Core maintains its market leadership with a TVL of $660 million, despite a 9.3% decrease from last month, still accounting for 25.3% of the market share. Bitlayer shows strong growth, with a TVL increase of 15.2% to $430 million (market share 16.8%), while BSquared performed excellently, with a TVL surge of 19.7% to $400 million (market share 15.3%).

Rootstock and BOB ranked fourth and fifth with a TVL of $250 million and $240 million, respectively, with growth rates of 10.8% and 8.9%. AILayer's TVL grew by 13.2% to $230 million.

Among medium-sized platforms, MerlinTVL fell by 3.7% to $170 million, while Stacks rose by 4.0% to $120 million. Small platforms showed mixed performance, with BounceBit increasing by 7.3%, while newcomers SatoshiVM and Naka dropped by 11.6% and 14.9%, respectively.

Changes in the Ethereum Layer 2 Ecosystem

In January 2025, the total locked value of the Ethereum Layer 2 ecosystem fell to $18.3 billion, a decrease of 6.7% from the previous month, with varied performance among market leaders.

Despite a significant drop of 20.4% compared to last month, a certain trading platform maintains its leading position with a TVL of $6.8 billion. Base continues its strong momentum, with a TVL increase of 14.0% to $4.6 billion, solidifying its second position. Optimism remains firmly in third place with a TVL of $3 billion, only slightly down by 0.5%.

Among the best-performing platforms, World Chain stood out with a TVL increase of 27.6% to $350 million, while Paradex surged by 50.3% to $37.2 million. ZK Rollups showed resilience, with Starknet and zkSync Era growing by 7.4% and 12.2% respectively, reaching a TVL of $900 million and $610 million.

Some mature platforms are facing challenges, with Blast TVL dropping by 33.8% to $400 million, and Fuel down by 47.3% to $110 million. Linea and Scroll also decreased by 5.7% and 5.2%, respectively.

The competitive dynamics of the ecosystem continue to evolve, with Optimistic Rollup and ZK Rollup showing varying degrees of success. As new entrants join the ecosystem, mature platforms focus on consolidating their market position by enhancing functionality and user experience.