How will Layer1 public chains perform in 2024?

Author: Prem Reginald

Translation: Plain Language Blockchain

Inspired by Donald Trump’s win in the presidential election, the Cryptocurrency market in 2024 presents a vertical rise trend. As a platform for decentralized applications (dApps) and Smart Contracts, the demand for L1 solutions has risen significantly, and major L1 Blockchains are fiercely competing for the top position. However, they face strong challenges from Layer 2 (L2) solutions, which are committed to significantly lowering transaction costs and competing with mature Blockchains such as Ethereum in terms of transaction speed.

1. Which Layer 1 Tokens perform the best?

Among the best performing tokens, Mantra (OM) has achieved an unprecedented rise, with a value surge of 7,035.2%. This significant increase is partly attributed to the collaboration between Mantra and Zand, a Digital Bank based in the United Arab Emirates. By complying with the regulations of the Dubai Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA), Zand has tokenized Real-World Assets (RWA). Furthermore, there is a continuous rise in demand for RWA products, prompting traditional financial institutions to introduce money market funds and bonds to the blockchain.

2. Other outstanding TOKENs

AIOZ Network (AIOZ) is another standout performer, rising 427.6% YTD. The platform’s Decentralization content delivery network has gained increasing adoption due to continuous ecosystem optimization. Also in the top three is Sui (SUI), which has risen 388.2% YTD, benefiting from rapid development within its ecosystem, including the launch of innovative dApps that leverage its high scalability and developer-friendly features.

Other performers worth following include:

Bellscoin (BELLS): rise 252.2%

Zano (ZANO): rise 159%

Toncoin (TON): rise 136.2%, successfully hosted dApps and launched the ‘click and earn’ game through integration with Telegram.

3. The top ten Layer 1 Tokens by Market Cap have relatively moderate price increases.

Although small and medium Market Cap Layer 1 Tokens have performed well, larger Market Cap Tokens such as BTC, Ethereum, and Solana remain solid investment choices.

BTC (BTC) achieved a yearly rise of 112.9%.

ETH (ETH) rose 34.9%, but performed worse than similar Tokens. With the rise of new Layer 2 and other blockchains, the dominance of ETH is declining year by year, despite the launch of Spot ETH ETF in the United States. However, ETH still outperformed the S&P 500 index, which rose 24.8% in 2024.

Solana (SOL): Rising from the Ashes

Solana (SOL) has risen 134.3% so far this year, emerging from the shadow of FTX bankruptcy in 2022. Most of the increase occurred in 2023, when it surged from $15 to $120, driven by the memecoin frenzy. This trend has also extended to other blockchains, such as Tron Network (TRX), which has risen 85.5% this year.

Meanwhile, Toncoin (TON) recorded an astonishing 136.2% rise, mainly due to its ability to host dApps on the popular social messaging app Telegram. The ‘click to earn’ game mode has become extremely popular on Telegram, further driving its rise.

SUI: The most eye-catching performance

SUI has been the most impressive performer this year with a rise of 338.2%. The rise is mainly due to increased investor interest, on-chain activity, and improved practicality through significant dApp expansion. In addition, Circle’s USDC has been integrated into the network, and there is also a trend of funds transferring from Ethereum to SUI.

4. The largest decline

On the other hand, some TOKENs have plummeted by as much as -96% this year.

Entangle (NGL) has the worst performance, with a YTD decline of -95.3%.

Following closely behind are Kujira (KUJI) and Trias Lab (TRIAS), which have dropped by -86.7% and -83.4% respectively.

NGL with a high valuation issuance in March 2024, the price has been continuously declining since. Kujira’s performance, on the other hand, has been affected by the team’s high-risk leverage Liquidity position, which has backfired during market Fluctuation periods.

5. How will the Layer 1 Token issued in 2024 perform?

The performance of various Layer 1 Cryptocurrencies launched in 2024 varies, reflecting the challenges of breaking through in a competitive market.

Aleo (ALEO) launched in September, has dropped by -58.1% since issuance.

Saga (SAGA), launched in April, faces a similar predicament, down -69.9% year to date.

Also launched in April, Omni Network (OMNI) fell by -68.8%.

Zeta Chain (ZETA) has dropped by -57.3% since its issuance in February.

The performance of Router Protocol (ROUTE) and other new projects

Router Protocol (ROUTE) saw a 24.8% decrease in price since its launch in July, while Ice Open Network (ICE), which has been active since January, saw a relatively smaller drop of 34.5%. Meanwhile, Kaia (KAIA), which entered the market no later than the end of October, achieved a small positive rise of 5.2%. These performances reflect the volatility of new Layer 1 projects and the importance of continuous innovation and user adoption in gaining market recognition.

6. Top ten Layer 1 projects ranked by price performance

Note: YTD is the abbreviation of Year-to-Date, which means “year-to-date”. It is usually used to describe the performance of a certain indicator (such as income, rate of increase or performance) within the time period from the beginning of the year (usually January 1) to the current date.

7. Conclusion

In 2024, the Layer 1 blockchain field has shown a diversified performance. Mantra, with a YTD increase of up to 7035%, is far ahead, thanks to its strategic partnerships and cutting-edge blockchain application cases. Meanwhile, established players such as BTC, Solana, and Toncoin have demonstrated steady performance, proving their strong vitality in the ever-changing market. At the same time, newly issued tokens face huge challenges and often struggle due to high valuations at the start.

As competition between Layer 1 and Layer 2 solutions intensifies, the follow of scalability, practicality, and compliance will determine the emergence of winners in the ever-changing crypto market, which is particularly important.

Note: This study analyzed the price performance of the top 100 cryptocurrencies in the Layer 1 category on CoinGecko sorted by Market Cap. The YTD gains data covers performance from January 1, 2024, to November 18. These data reflect a snapshot of the market, showing the performance differences of various currencies in a broader market environment.