GuShiio.com Changes in key indicators and market dynamics in the public chain industry in January 2025.
Author: Stella L (stela@footprint.network)
Data source: Footprint Analytics public chain research page
In January 2025, the total market value of the crypto market increased by 7.2% to US$2.8 trillion, and the performance of major blockchain platforms was divided. Under the dual impact of new regulatory policies and breakthroughs in artificial intelligence infrastructure technology, Bitcoin strengthened its market dominance to 71.3%.
market overview
Bitcoin rose from $94,577 to $102,180, an increase of 8.0%. Ethereum’s performance was weak, falling from US$3,353 to US$3,292, a decrease of 1.8%, and the ETH/BTC ratio hit a new low since September 2024.
Data source: Bitcoin and Ethereum price trends
A number of important policy developments have significantly affected the trend of the encryption market. The executive order issued by the Trump administration on cryptocurrency regulation provides unprecedented clear guidance to the industry, with special emphasis on protecting self-custody rights and supporting the development of stablecoins. However, at the end of the month, Trump’s remarks on international trade tariffs raised concerns about global economic growth, and market sentiment cooled.
The $TRUMP and $MELANIA tokens launched by the Trump family on Solana triggered violent fluctuations in the Memecoin sector. This wave of speculation has significantly distracted the market’s attention and funds from other crypto sectors, including the blockchain game space.
DeepSeek’s breakthrough progress in the field of artificial intelligence has also affected market dynamics. This development has accelerated the focus on decentralized AI infrastructure in the crypto ecosystem, with AI-related tokens rising this month.
Layer 1
In January 2025, the total market value of blockchain climbed 7.2% to US$2.8 trillion, and Bitcoin’s market dominance further increased to 71.3%. Ethereum’s share continues to decline to 14.0%, while Solana once again overtook the BNB chain (3.4%) with a market share of 4.0%. Other public chains together account for a market share of 7.4%.
Data source: Public chain token price and market value
Solana continued its strong performance, with its market value increasing by 22.0% to US$112.3 billion, consolidating its position as the third largest blockchain by market value.
Among the top 20 chains with market value, Stellar performed outstandingly, with a significant increase in market value to US$12.6 billion, while Litecoin and Monero rose 23.5% and 21.6% respectively. Cardano’s market value increased 11.9% to US$33.2 billion.
Emerging platforms maintain their momentum, and Sui’s market value has stabilized at US$12.4 billion in an environment of intensified competition. Although TON’s market value fell 14.0% to US$12 billion, it still maintained its position in the top ten. Hedera showed good growth, with its market value rising 14.2% to $11.7 billion.
Traditional Layer 1 platforms such as Polkadot, Near and Aptos are under pressure, with market capitalizations falling between 3.7% and 7.5%.
Bitcoin Layer 2 Side Chain
In January 2025, Bitcoin Layer 2 and sidechains maintained growth, with the total locked position reaching US$2.6 billion, an increase of 5.2% from December.
Data source: Overall trend of Bitcoin ecosystem public chain TVL
Core maintains market leadership with a $660 million TVL and still holds a 25.3% market share despite a 9.3% decline from December. Bitlayer grew strongly, with TVL rising 15.2% to $430 million (16.8% market share), while BSquared performed well, with TVL rising 19.7% to $400 million (15.3% market share).
Rootstock and BOB ranked fourth and fifth with TVLs of US$250 million and US$240 million respectively, with growth rates of 10.8% and 8.9% respectively. It is worth noting that AILayer TVL increased by 13.2% to US$230 million.
Data source: Bitcoin Ecological Public Chain TVL-January 2025
Among mid-sized platforms, Merlin TVL fell modestly 3.7% to $170 million, while Stacks maintained steady growth, rising 4.0% to $120 million. Small platforms performed mixed, with BounceBit growing by 7.3%, while new entrants such as SatoshiVM and Naka fell by 11.6% and 14.9% respectively.
Ethereum Layer2
In January 2025, the Ethereum Layer 2 ecosystem underwent significant changes, with total lockups falling to US$18.3 billion, down 6.7% from December. Market leaders are divided.
Data source: November 2024 Ethereum Layer 2 Overview-Rollups(Bridge-related Indicators)
Despite a sharp decline of 20.4% from December, Arbitrum maintained its leadership position with a $6.8 billion TVL. Base continued its strong momentum, with TVL growing 14.0% to US$4.6 billion, consolidating its second-place position. Optimism ranked third with a TVL of US$3 billion, down only slightly 0.5%.
Among the best performing platforms, World Chain performed well, with TVL growing 27.6% to US$350 million, while Paradex rising 50.3% to US$37.2 million. ZK Rollups showed resilience, with Starknet and zkSync Era growing by 7.4% and 12.2% respectively, and TVL reaching US$900 million and US$610 million.
Some mature platforms faced challenges, with Blast TVL down 33.8% to US$400 million and Fuel down 47.3% to US$110 million. Linea and Scroll also fell 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 improving functionality and user experience.
