Layer 1: blockchains to follow in 2025

Hyperliquid: Relentless Growth

Virtually unknown to the broader public at the beginning of 2024, Hyperliquid has risen to become the leading decentralized exchange (DEX) specializing in perpetual contracts. The platform also serves as a showcase for its underlying technology—a purpose-built layer 1 blockchain optimized for decentralized trading. It supports an extensive on-chain order book, offering high performance, low latency, and reduced transaction fees.

Hyperliquid leverages the HyperBFT consensus mechanism, capable of handling large volumes with an average latency of just 0.2 seconds. This ensures a seamless experience, enabling traders to execute strategies without interruptions. Currently, the network supports up to 100,000 orders per second, with future optimizations planned to surpass this threshold as demands increase.

The HyperBFT consensus also forms the foundation for HyperEVM, an EVM-compatible network allowing developers to build DeFi applications within the Hyperliquid ecosystem using Ethereum standards. Although HyperEVM operates as a sidechain independent of the main layer 1, it benefits directly from the robustness and performance of its infrastructure. HyperEVM is currently in testnet and is expected to go live on mainnet in Q1 2025. Public staking for HYPE is now available.

At present, Hyperliquid’s total DEX TVL is estimated at $2.8 billion, ranking it eighth among blockchains in this metric—a growth of 2500% since April. In terms of transaction volume, Hyperliquid surged from approximately $17 billion in January to nearly $90 billion today (+430%), surpassing most layer 1 blockchains except Ethereum and Solana.

Interestingly, Hyperliquid hosts a bridged TVL of around $2.2 billion, representing USDC deposits by users from the Arbitrum network. This accounts for 67% of the total USDC supply on Arbitrum.

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Monad: The Cult of Community

Like Solana or Sui, some layer 1 blockchains are pushing the boundaries of scalability while offering a credible alternative to Ethereum. Monad follows this approach with a clear objective: maintaining EVM compatibility while achieving radically superior execution speed.

Monad relies on parallel transaction execution, an optimized consensus mechanism (MonadBFT), and a specialized transaction data storage system (MonadDB) to reach 10,000 transactions per second (TPS) with one-second finality.

In practice, Monad aims to combine the best of Ethereum and Solana: a familiar environment for developers (thanks to its EVM compatibility) while offering performance comparable to Solana. Unlike networks like Sui, Aptos, or Sei (which we will discuss later in this article), Monad directly benefits from the Ethereum ecosystem, making it easy for developers to port their applications.

Even before its public testnet launch in November 2024, Monad had already secured $225 million in funding from investors such as Paradigm, Dragonfly Capital, and GSR Ventures. This level of financing places Monad among the best-funded layer 1 projects pre-launch.

While its technical performance is a key argument, Monad has succeeded where many projects fail: building a powerful community even before its launch. The project has leveraged a strong visual identity, memes, and community-driven competitions to embed its image into crypto culture.

Furthermore, joining the Monad community is highly exclusive and increasingly competitive, with initiatives like “The Purge” ensuring that only the most active and engaged members remain. As a result, Monad's community is perceived as high-value, making other projects seek collaboration with it, effectively reversing the traditional Web3 marketing model.

Ultimately, Monad is more than just a high-performance blockchain—it is a movement, where every member plays a critical role in the expansion and adoption of the project.

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Berachain: Ooga Booga

Berachain is a Layer 1 blockchain specifically designed for decentralized finance (DeFi). The network operates on a Tendermint-based EVM-compatible model, but its true innovation lies in its Proof of Liquidity (PoL) consensus mechanism. Unlike Proof of Stake (PoS), which primarily benefits validators, PoL incentivizes validators, liquidity providers, and protocols to collaborate, maximizing network efficiency.

The architecture of Berachain relies on three distinct tokens. First, BERA, used for transactions and gas fees. Then, BGT (Berachain Governance Token), a non-transferable governance token, distributed through PoL, which can be burned for BERA or delegated to validators. Finally, HONEY, a native stablecoin, backed by USDC or USDT reserves, serving as the core liquidity asset within Berachain’s DeFi ecosystem.

With over $100 million raised from investors like Polychain Capital, Berachain is establishing itself in the Layer 1 space. Its first testnet launch in January 2024 attracted over one million new wallets, while the mainnet is expected in mid-February.

Beyond its technical infrastructure, Berachain is built on a radically different community foundation compared to other Layer 1s.

• Origins in NFTs and OlympusDAO: What started as a joke NFT collection (Bong Bears) evolved into a full-fledged blockchain.
• An exclusive community model: Over time, Berachain has become an ultra-competitive ecosystem, where entry is becoming increasingly selective.
• A strong cultural identity: Expressions like “Ooga Booga”, the massive use of memes, and a distinct writing style within the community.

This community-driven branding strategy has allowed Berachain to turn a joke into a serious Layer 1 project, with massive adoption even before its official launch. This cult-like aspect, similar to Monad, is a crucial factor in the success of any blockchain project. For Berachain, it will be an essential asset to compete with the biggest Layer 1 players in the industry.

→ To find out more, see our complete Berachain presentation:

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Sui, Aptos, Sei: The Next "Solana Killers"?

The 2020–2021 cycle witnessed the rise of so-called “Ethereum Killers,” blockchains aiming to rival Ethereum through superior speed, scalability, and lower fees. Among these, Solana emerged as the standout success, establishing itself as the benchmark for monolithic, ultra-fast, and cost-effective blockchains.

As with any market leader, challengers are inevitably drawn to dethrone it. Enter the "Solana Killers." Among the contenders, three names dominate the conversation: Sui, Aptos, and Sei.

These three blockchains share a common goal: to offer a comprehensive and unique ecosystem capable of accommodating a large user base without compromising performance, all while maintaining near-zero transaction fees. Additionally, users can perform all operations without switching networks, relying solely on a native wallet.

Sui

Developed by former contributors to Meta’s Diem project, Sui leverages technical innovations from the defunct initiative to differentiate itself. Sui's architecture relies on parallel transaction execution (sharding) enabled by protocols such as Narwhal and Bullshark and utilizes the Move programming language.

The Mysticeti update in August 2024 introduced fundamental changes to Sui, particularly in its consensus mechanism. Without delving into technical details, consensus finality time was reduced by 80%, enabling the network to achieve a theoretical transaction throughput of 125,000 TPS with a finality time under three seconds.

Despite a promising TVL increase to $1.9 billion by December, Sui's activity remains relatively subdued for a blockchain of its caliber. Monthly active users hover around 830,000 (compared to Solana’s 6.7 million), with a monthly transaction volume of $60 billion (versus Solana’s $243 billion). For Sui to seriously challenge Solana, it must build a more stable user base and diversify its ecosystem with major DeFi protocols.

Aptos

Launched in October 2022, Aptos shares roots with Sui, both originating from Meta’s Diem project. Similarly, both blockchains utilize the Move programming language and implement transaction parallelization mechanisms.

The integration of the Shoal++ consensus protocol in June 2024 marked a significant milestone for Aptos, enabling it to achieve a theoretical capacity of 100,000 TPS with sub-second latency. This innovation positions Aptos among the sector’s most performant blockchains.

From an on-chain perspective, Aptos’ TVL is slightly lower than Sui’s ($1.23 billion), with a monthly transaction volume half as large ($21 billion). However, its number of active addresses is comparable, at approximately 743,000—an increase of over 50% in November.

In 2024, Aptos garnered attention through DeFi projects like Aries Market and initiatives focused on real-world assets (RWA), such as the USDY stablecoin backed by U.S. Treasury bonds. These ventures hold particular promise for a blockchain aiming to rival Solana.

Sei

Sei is a unique entrant on this list due to its sector-specific positioning. Unlike Ethereum, Solana, Sui, or Aptos—designed to host a broad range of decentralized applications—Sei focuses solely on trading.

Sei’s infrastructure is highly scalable, built on a fork of Cosmos SDK and Tendermint Core. It offers low block finality times and high transaction throughput. Additionally, Sei incorporates an on-chain order book to facilitate the development of trading-focused decentralized applications.

From an on-chain perspective, Sei lags behind its peers. TVL currently stands at $265.3 million (a 4900% increase since January). Active addresses grew from 28,000 in January to over 300,000 in December, while transaction volume remains stagnant at around $7 billion.

Sei's inclusion among the “Solana Killers” stems from its alignment with Solana’s most vibrant ecosystem: trading, particularly memecoins. Sei is designed to support decentralized exchanges, perpetual trading platforms, and memecoin marketplaces.

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The Open Network (TON): A Unique Case

The Open Network (TON) underwent a remarkable transformation in 2024. Originally launched as Telegram Open Network, TON was developed by the Telegram messaging app team. In 2017, regulatory issues stemming from a $1.7 billion fundraising led Telegram to abandon the project, which was subsequently open-sourced and handed over to the community.

Initially dismissed as a relic of the past, TON found new life by leveraging Telegram's vast user base and adopting a strategy focused on simplifying access to decentralized applications (dApps). In reality, the ties between TON and Telegram were never entirely severed, giving the blockchain a strategic advantage through its integration with an app boasting nearly a billion monthly active users. This integration addresses one of the primary barriers to blockchain adoption today: user experience complexity.

From a metrics standpoint, TON’s TVL increased from $13 million in January to nearly $300 million by the end of 2024, a staggering 2100% growth. Interestingly, its monthly transaction volume hovers around $20 billion (the lowest among the layer 1 blockchains analyzed here), with approximately 610,000 active addresses and 20 million monthly transactions—on par with Ethereum.

TON stands out for not being heavily used for financial purposes. Unlike Solana, where DEX volumes dominate blockchain activity, TON is primarily utilized for its ecosystem of applications integrated within Telegram. These “mini-apps” provide a familiar and seamless interface, similar to the super-app model of WeChat, enabling users to access financial services, games, and social platforms without leaving the Telegram app.

Among Telegram’s flagship projects are Notcoin and Hamster Kombat. These "Tap-to-Earn" applications attracted millions of users due to their simplicity and potential airdrop incentives. Notcoin reached 4 million users within three months, while Hamster Kombat surpassed 200 million users in 2024. Additionally, the TON Foundation’s App Center showcases thousands of available applications, strengthening the ecosystem and simplifying navigation for new users.

In June 2024, Telegram recorded 50 million new installations, coinciding with TON reaching record highs in TVL ($765 million), transaction volume ($22 billion), and transaction count (94 million). However, the arrest of Telegram founder Pavel Durov by French authorities on August 24, 2024, dealt a significant blow to the ecosystem's momentum.

Ultimately, GameFi has emerged as TON’s dominant category. With over 400 projects listed, blockchain gaming provides an ideal entry point for new users. However, TON’s DeFi landscape remains underdeveloped, lacking complex products like derivative markets or yield farming tools. Nevertheless, TON’s success lies in its deviation from traditional DeFi-centric blockchains, carving a niche centered around user accessibility and gaming.

Despite challenges, TON exemplifies how unique positioning and integration with existing ecosystems can drive blockchain adoption. The network's growth in 2024 highlights its potential to attract users through familiar interfaces and innovative applications rather than purely financial use cases.

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Bonus 1 : Solana (SOL), the big winner of 2024

Gone are the days when SOL traded below $10—a reality just two years ago at the end of 2022. The blockchain’s 2024 achievements are staggering: Solana re-entered the top 10 cryptocurrencies, surpassed Binance’s BNB to rank fifth in market capitalization, and reached a new all-time high of $263 in November, delivering a +150% performance in 2024, compared to ETH’s +56%.

Solana now outperforms Ethereum across almost all key metrics, including active users, transaction count, transaction volume, and, for the first time in November, blockchain-generated revenue. This dominance is largely driven by Solana's leadership in memecoins, one of the few sectors that continued to attract users during the market lull between March and October.

From a financial perspective, Solana’s ecosystem delivered stellar results. In Q3 2024, Solana-based projects raised over $173 million, setting a record for a single quarter. In October, network validators generated nearly $450 million in revenue, while hosted projects collectively earned $300 million. Among the standout successes was PumpFun, a platform for launching and trading memecoins, which became one of 2024’s most lucrative ventures.

The enthusiasm for Solana is also evident in active addresses, which reached 148 million in October 2024. This trend coincides with growing developer interest, as their numbers doubled compared to the previous year, with many migrating from other blockchains to leverage Solana’s technical advantages.

Looking ahead to 2025, Solana's influence could grow further if the bull run continues. Anticipated upgrades, such as Firedancer—the new validator client—are expected to enhance network decentralization and address technical issues. Recently, spot Solana ETF applications were filed in the U.S., potentially paving the way for new waves of institutional investment in 2025.

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Bonus 2: Alephium (ALPH), a PoW blockchain

For Proof of Work (PoW) enthusiasts, it's not impossible to find a blockchain with a good level of performance and security, that keeps energy consumption low and also supports smart contracts: that blockchain is Alephium (ALPH).

The Alephium blockchain combines fundamental principles of Bitcoin (BTC) with technological innovations from Ethereum (ETH). Firstly, the network is based on a consensus mechanism known as Proof of Less Work (PoLW) - a derivative version of Proof of Work (PoW). Secondly, it adopts an UTXO (Unspent Transaction Output) model, again inspired by Bitcoin. Finally, it incorporates a sharding algorithm called BlockFlow, enabling the network to be split for faster execution.

Alephium currently boasts a TVL of around $10 million, placing it at the forefront of Proof of Work blockchains integrating smart contracts. The network's hashrate continues to climb, recently setting new all-time records at over 50 PH/s.

In a sector ultra-dominated by Proof of Stake blockchains, and where this consensus model is increasingly criticized for its “centralizing” aspect over the long term, it's important to keep an eye on alternative solutions. By integrating a version derived from Proof of Work, Alephium is an interesting candidate for users seeking new solutions for their investments.

→ To go further, read our complete presentation of Alephium :