January public chain industry research report: BTC dominance strengthened, Ethereum performance still weak

This article will demonstrate the key indicators and market dynamics changes in the public chain industry in January 2025 through research reports. (Background: Musk calls for Blockchain governance! The Government Efficiency Department reportedly has secretly contacted multiple public chains, CZ agrees: all expenses should be put on the chain) (Background: 22 mainstream public chains' performance review in 2024: half of them experienced a decline in activity, with Hyperliquid ranking first in multiple data) In January 2025, the encryption market's total market capitalization rose by 7.2% to $2.8 trillion, with major blockchain platforms showing differentiated performance. Under the dual impact of new regulatory policies and breakthroughs in artificial intelligence infrastructure technology, BTC strengthened its market dominance to 71.3%. Source: Footprint Analytics Public Chain Research Page Market Overview BTC rose from $94,577 to $102,180, with an increase of 8.0%. On the other hand, Ethereum showed weakness, dropping from $3,353 to $3,292, a decrease of 1.8%, with the ETH/BTC ratio hitting a new low since September 2024. Source: BTC and Ethercoin PA Several important policy developments significantly influenced the encryption market trend. The Cryptocurrency regulatory executive order released by the Trump administration provided unprecedented clarity for the industry, particularly emphasizing the protection of self-custody rights and support for Stable Coin development. However, Trump's comments at the end of the month regarding international trade tariffs raised concerns about the global economic rise, leading to a cooling of market sentiment. The $TRUMP and $MELANIA Tokens launched by the Trump family on Solana triggered drastic fluctuations in the Memecoin zone. This speculation frenzy significantly diverted market attention and funds from other encryption zones, including the blockchain gaming sector. Breakthroughs in artificial intelligence by DeepSeek also impacted market dynamics. This development accelerated the following of Decentralization AI infrastructure in the encryption ecosystem, with AI-related Tokens experiencing an uptrend this month. Layer 1 In January 2025, the total market capitalization of blockchains rose by 7.2% to $2.8 trillion, with BTC's market dominance further increasing to 71.3%. Ethereum's share continued to decline to 14.0%, while Solana, with a 4.0% market share, once again surpassed BNB Chain (3.4%). Other public chains collectively accounted for 7.4% of market share. Source: Public Chain Token Prices and Market Cap Solana continued its strong performance, with the market capitalization rising by 22.0% to $112.3 billion, consolidating its position as the third-largest blockchain by market capitalization. Among the top 20 chains by market capitalization, Stellar had outstanding performance, with a significant rise in market capitalization to $12.6 billion, while Litecoin and Monero rose by 23.5% and 21.6% respectively. Cardano's market capitalization rose by 11.9% to $33.2 billion. Emerging platforms maintained their development momentum, with Sui stabilizing at $12.4 billion amidst intensifying competition. Despite a 14.0% decrease in market capitalization to $12.0 billion, TON maintained its position in the top ten. Hedera demonstrated good growth, with market capitalization rising by 14.2% to $11.7 billion. Traditional Layer 1 platforms such as Polkadot, Near, and Aptos faced pressure, with market capitalization declining by 3.7% to 7.5%. BTC Layer 2 & Sidechain In January 2025, BTC Layer 2 and Sidechains maintained an uptrend, with a total TVL of $26 billion, up by 5.2% from December. Source: BTC Ecosystem Public Chain TVL Overall Trend Core maintained its market leadership with a TVL of $660 million, despite a 9.3% decrease from December, still occupying 25.3% of market share. Bitlayer showed strong growth, with TVL rising by 15.2% to $430 million (market share 16.8%), while BSquared performed well, with TVL significantly increasing by 19.7% to $400 million (market share 15.3%). Rootstock and BOB ranked fourth and fifth with TVL of $250 million and $240 million, respectively, with growth rates of 10.8% and 8.9%. It is worth noting that AILayer's TVL rose by 13.2% to $230 million. Source: BTC Ecosystem Public Chain TVL - January 2025 In medium-sized platforms, Merlin's TVL moderately decreased by 3.7% to $170 million, while Stacks maintained stable growth, rising by 4.0% to $120 million. Small platforms had mixed performances, with BounceBit rising by 7.3%, while newcomers like SatoshiVM and Naka decreased by 11.6% and 14.9% respectively. Ethereum Layer2 In January 2025, significant changes occurred in the Ethereum Layer 2 ecosystem, with total TVL dropping to $18.3 billion, a 6.7% decrease from December. Market leaders showed differentiated performance. Source: November 2024 Ethereum Layer 2 Overview - Rollups bridge-related indicators Arbitrum, despite a significant 20.4% decrease from December, maintained its leadership with a TVL of $68 billion. Base continued its strong momentum, with TVL rising by 14.0% to $46 billion, consolidating its second position. Optimism remained in third place with a TVL of $30 billion, only slightly decreasing by 0.5%. Among the top-performing platforms, World Chain excelled, with TVL rising by 27.6% to $3.5 billion, while Paradex surged by 50.3% to $37.2 million. ZK Rollups showed resilience, with Starknet and zkSync Era rising by 7.4% and 12.2% respectively, reaching $900 million and $610 million in TVL. Some mature platforms faced challenges, with Blast's TVL decreasing by 33.8% to $400 million, Fuel dropping 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 newcomers join the ecosystem, mature platforms focus on consolidating their market position by enhancing functionality and user experience. Related Reports 2024 Annual Report of the Public Chain Industry: From infrastructure competition to application breakthrough, the altcoin season has arrived.