June Public Chain Industry Report: Market Correction, Diverging Performance of Bitcoin and Ethereum Layer2
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June Public Chain Industry Report: Market Correction, Diverging Performance of Bitcoin and Ethereum Layer2
In June 2024, Bitcoin faced pressure, the total market capitalization of public blockchain tokens declined, but some tokens grew against the trend, total TVL decreased, and Layer2 projects performed variably.
Navigating Web3 tides with focused insightsWritten by: [email protected]
June presented significant challenges for the cryptocurrency market. Bitcoin faced mounting pressure due to upcoming Mt. Gox compensation payouts and government-led liquidations, increasing market uncertainty. Although progress on U.S. spot Ethereum ETFs brought positive signals, the total market capitalization of public blockchain tokens still declined by 7.7%, led by drops in Bitcoin and Ethereum. However, Toncoin, TRON, and Kaspa were exceptions, achieving growth. Meanwhile, the total value locked (TVL) across blockchains fell by 18.7%, though Core Chain saw notable expansion. In scaling solutions, Ethereum’s Layer 2 and Bitcoin’s layer-2 networks showed mixed performance, while Sonic, Solana’s gaming-focused Layer 2 project, entered the Layer 2 race.
Data for this report is sourced from Footprint Analytics’ Public Chain Research page (click 'Read More' at the end of the article to access). This page offers an easy-to-use dashboard containing the most critical statistics and metrics for understanding the public chain landscape, updated in real time.
Crypto Market Overview
Sustained selling pressure from multiple sources heavily impacted Bitcoin. On June 24, the Mt. Gox bankruptcy trustee announced that repayments in Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash (BCH) would begin in July 2024, triggering widespread uncertainty about creditors converting assets into fiat and the exact timeline. At the same time, U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs experienced net outflows during the second half of June.
Government actions also played a significant role. A German government agency began liquidating Bitcoin seized in 2013, transferring nearly 4,000 BTC to exchanges in June. Simultaneously, the U.S. government moved 3,940 BTC confiscated from a convicted drug trafficker's wallet to Coinbase.
Despite positive developments around spot Ethereum ETFs in the U.S., Bitcoin's weakness spilled over into the broader crypto market.
Public Chain Overview
In June, the cryptocurrency market underwent a significant correction. By month-end, the total market cap of public chain cryptocurrencies had decreased by 7.7% month-on-month, settling at $1.95 trillion. Bitcoin, Ethereum, BNB Chain, and Solana continued to dominate the market with respective shares of 63.3%, 21.2%, 4.4%, and 3.5%.
Source: Public Chain Token Market Cap Share, June 2024
Bitcoin’s price dropped from $67,730 at the beginning of the month to $62,795 at month-end, a decline of 7.3%. Ethereum also fell, decreasing from $3,820 to $3,444, a drop of 9.8%.
Source: Bitcoin and Ethereum Price Trends
Despite the general price downturn in June, three tokens among the top 15 public chain tokens by market cap defied the trend, posting gains in both price and market value: Toncoin, TRON, and Kaspa.
Toncoin stood out due to TON’s Open League token incentive program and the growing popularity of Telegram-based games. Toncoin reached a new all-time high of $8.20 in mid-June, rising against the market tide.
TRON’s token price increased by 10.8% throughout the month, rebounding to levels seen in mid-May and continuing its upward trajectory since February 2024.
Kaspa, a Layer 1 network using blockDAG (Block Directed Acyclic Graph) architecture, saw a remarkable 37.7% increase in its token price in June, reaching a new high of $0.19 on June 30. Kaspa’s growing appeal was underscored by Bitcoin mining giant MARA expanding its mining operations to include Kaspa, marking MARA’s official transition into a multi-cryptocurrency mining enterprise.
Source: Public Chain Token Prices and Market Caps at End of June 2024
By the end of June, public chain TVL had fallen to $72.2 billion, down 18.7% from May. In this space, Ethereum, TRON, and BNB Chain maintained their leading positions.
Among the top 15 public chains, only TON recorded TVL growth, which surged by 106.8%, while all others declined.
Among other chains, Core Chain stood out with an astonishing 227.7% increase in TVL within one month. This surge followed closely after Coinbase added CORE to its roadmap at the end of May. To support BTCfi, Core Chain launched several proactive initiatives, including the Core Ignition Drop and the BTCfi Summer Hackathon, successfully attracting more DeFi projects and driving rapid TVL growth.
Source: Public Chain TVL at End of June 2024
Additionally, the Solana Foundation launched cutting-edge tools aimed at turning websites, apps, social media, and QR codes into entry points for crypto transactions on the Solana blockchain. The “Actions” tool allows users to complete on-chain transactions directly within web pages, social platforms, and QR codes, while “Blinks” transforms these transactions into shareable links, promoting wider on-chain interaction. Together, these tools are turning the internet into a distributed network of on-chain interactions, accelerating Solana’s mainstream adoption.
Key Layer 1 Public Chains Development – June 2024
BNB Chain
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BNB price hit a record high of $710.
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BNB Chain completed the Haber hard fork upgrade, potentially reducing gas fees by up to 90%.
Solana
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21Shares has submitted an S-1 filing to the U.S. SEC for a Solana ETF.
NEAR
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The NEAR Foundation established Nuffle Labs with a $13 million grant.
Sui
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Sui Foundation: Sui Bridge testnet is now live, along with an incentive program.
Polygon
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Polygon ID, the digital identity solution, has spun off from Polygon Labs and rebranded as Privado ID.
Ronin
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Ronin announced plans to develop a Layer 2 solution using the Polygon Chain Development Kit (CDK).
Layer 2
In June, despite progress in U.S. spot Ethereum ETFs, Ethereum Layer 2 networks faced downward pressure amid the market correction. Arbitrum and Optimism, leaders in the space, saw their TVL decline by 10.5% and 22.2% month-on-month, respectively. Meanwhile, Blast’s TVL dropped by 22.0% following the conclusion of its Phase 1 airdrop. In contrast, Base and Linea maintained relatively stable TVL, close to May levels.
However, Scroll saw significant growth, with TVL surging 42.8%. This positive shift followed the launch of the Scroll Sessions Points airdrop program on June 21. Session One focused on incentivizing liquidity, particularly rewarding DeFi users who provided liquidity on DEXs.
Source: Ethereum Layer 2 Overview – Rollups (Bridge-related Metrics), June 2024
In June, airdrops became a major talking point across Ethereum Layer 2 networks—including zkSync and Blast—as well as LayerZero’s highly anticipated airdrop. While these events generated significant buzz on social media, they also sparked controversy. zkSync faced criticism for its prolonged airdrop cycle and perceived unfair allocation. LayerZero encountered backlash due to strict anti-Sybil measures and a donation requirement to claim rewards. Blast’s complex reward mechanism and the gap between actual and expected rewards disappointed participants, triggering strong community pushback.
Despite the controversies, airdrops remain valuable marketing tools within the crypto ecosystem. They effectively attract new users, generate community engagement, and encourage active participation. To improve future airdrops, greater emphasis should be placed on transparency, fairness, and simplifying the claiming process.
Meanwhile, Bitcoin scaling solutions have seen explosive TVL growth since Q4 2023, with Merlin Chain, Bitlayer, and Rootstock standing out. Despite the market pullback in June, the Bitcoin ecosystem entered a vibrant and innovative summer.
Source: Bitcoin Ecosystem TVL
Key Layer 2 Public Chains Development – June 2024
Arbitrum
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Arbitrum recorded all-time highs in daily revenue and profit due to ZRO (LayerZero) airdrop claims.
Optimism
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Optimism announced on X that OP Stack has officially entered Stage 1.
Starknet
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StarkWare announced on X the upcoming launch of its Layer 3.
Blast
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The Blast Foundation was established, followed by the release of the Blast Vision.
Rootstock
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SushiSwap expanded to Rootstock.
Merlin Chain
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Merlin Chain launched a 210 million MERL ecosystem incentive program.
Blockchain Gaming
In June, there were 1,580 active blockchain games across various chains. BNB Chain, Polygon, and Ethereum led with market shares of 22.4%, 19.5%, and 16.1%, respectively.
Meanwhile, Ronin, Polygon, and NEAR remained leaders among the 3 million daily active users (DAU), yet faced challenges. Ronin’s DAU share dropped from 29.8% at the start of the month to 18.4% by month-end, influenced by Pixels. Similarly, Polygon’s share declined from 15.1% to 8.0% due to a 31.6% month-on-month drop in DAU for its top game, Matr1x FIRE.
Oasys’s Layer 2, Saakuru Verse, saw significant DAU growth in the final ten days of June. Web3 gaming publisher PlayGround successfully launched three games—Copycat Killer, Panic, and Parkour Battle—driving Saakuru Verse’s DAU from 18,000 on June 21 to 464,000 on June 30, with an average DAU of 379,000 in the last week. If this momentum continues, Saakuru Verse could rapidly enter the top three blockchain platforms by DAU.
On the other hand, opBNB also performed strongly in the final week of June, averaging 285,000 DAU, accounting for nearly 10% of total DAU.
Source: Daily Active Users Across Public Chain Blockchain Games
Public chains are actively strengthening their gaming ecosystems through targeted Grant programs for Web3 game developers. Additionally, building dedicated chains has become a popular strategy. Ronin recently announced plans to build a Layer 2 using Polygon’s development toolkit (CDK), suggesting that popular games like Axie Infinity and Pixels may soon run on their own specialized gaming chains—a strategy aligned with those of Avalanche, Oasys, and SKALE. Whether this approach and similar ones will succeed remains to be seen, and we will continue monitoring developments.
For more data, see "Blockchain Gaming Report – June 2024: Pixels Causes DAU Fluctuation, Industry User Retention Rates Vary Significantly".
Funding Activity
In June, the public chain sector completed 11 funding rounds totaling $71.5 million, a 20.3% decrease month-on-month. Three of these rounds did not disclose specific amounts.
Public Chain Funding Events – June 2024 (Source: crypto-fundraising.info)
Decent Land Labs raised $3 million to develop WeaveVM, an innovative sovereign Layer 1 blockchain solution that addresses EVM storage limitations while combining EVM compatibility with Arweave’s scalable storage capabilities.
Sonic, a Solana Layer 2 network focused on gaming, raised $12 million in a Series A round to advance its gaming-centric infrastructure. Originally starting as a mobile game on Solana, Sonic quickly identified infrastructure bottlenecks and pivoted to building an efficient gaming Layer 2 solution.
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