A summary of the winners and losers of various L1 public chains so far this year.

Author: Prem Reginald

Translation: Plain Language Blockchain

Inspired by Donald Trump’s winning of the presidential election, the Cryptocurrency market in 2024 presents a vertical rise trend. As a platform for 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 increasing transaction speed at very low cost, thus competing with mature blockchains such as Ethereum.

1. Which Layer 1 tokens perform the best?

In the best performing Token, Mantra (OM) has achieved an unprecedented rise, with a value surge of 7,035.2%. This surge is partly due to the collaboration between Mantra and Digital BankZand, based in the United Arab Emirates. By complying with the regulations of the Dubai Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority (VARA), Zand has tokenized Real-World Assets (RWA). In addition, there is a continuous rise in demand for RWA products, and traditional Financial Institutions are also introducing money market funds and bonds into blockchain.

2. Other outstanding Tokens

AIOZ Network (AIOZ) is another standout player, rising 427.6% YTD this year. The platform’s Decentralization content distribution network has been increasingly adopted under continuous ecosystem optimization. Also in the top three is Sui (SUI), which has risen 388.2% YTD, benefiting from rapid growth 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): rise252.2%

Zano (ZANO): rise159%

Toncoin (TON): rise136.2%, successfully hosted dApps and launched a “click to earn” game through integration with Telegram.

3. The market capitalization of the top ten Layer 1 tokens has increased relatively mildly.

Although Layer 1 tokens with small and medium market capitalization have performed astonishingly, tokens with larger market capitalization such as BTC, Ethereum, and Solana are still stable investment choices.

BTC (BTC) achieved an annual rise of 112.9%.

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

Solana (SOL): Rising from the Ashes

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

At the same time, 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 performed the most impressively this year, with a rise of 338.2%. This increase is mainly due to the growing interest from investors, the rise in on-chain activities, and the usability improvements brought by significant dApp expansions. In addition, Circle’s USDC has been integrated into the network, and there is also a trend of funds transferring from the ETH network to Sui.

4. The largest decline

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

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

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

NGL was issued at a high valuation in March 2024, and the price has since continued to decline. Meanwhile, Kujira’s performance has been affected by the team’s high-risk leveraged Liquidity position, which backfired during market Fluctuation periods.

How will the Layer 1 Token issuance perform in 2024?

Various Layer 1 Cryptocurrencies launched in 2024 have shown different performances, reflecting the challenges of breaking through in a competitive market.

Aleo (ALEO) was launched in September and has since declined by -58.1% in issuance.

Saga (SAGA) was launched in April and has faced similar challenges, with a decline of -69.9% year-to-date.

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

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

Performance of Router Protocol (ROUTE) and other new projects

Router Protocol (ROUTE) saw a 24.8% drop in price since its launch in July, while Ice Open Network (ICE), which has been active since January, experienced a relatively smaller decline of 34.5%. Meanwhile, Kaia (KAIA), which entered the market as recently as the end of October, achieved a slight 5.2% rise. These performances reflect the volatility of new Layer 1 projects and the importance of ongoing innovation and user adoption in gaining market recognition.

6. The top ten Layer 1 projects ranked by price performance

Note: YTD is the abbreviation of Year-to-Date, which means “from the beginning of the year to the present.” It is usually used to describe the performance of a certain indicator (such as earnings, changes in value, or performance) within the period from the beginning of the year (usually referring to January 1) to the current date.

7. Conclusion

In 2024, the Layer 1 Block chain sector presents diversified performance. Mantra, with a staggering 7035% year-to-date (YTD) increase, is far ahead, thanks to its strategic partnerships and cutting-edge Block chain application cases. Meanwhile, veteran players such as BTC, Solana, and Toncoin have shown stable 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 overvalued starting points.

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

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 the performance from January 1, 2024, to November 18, reflecting a snapshot of the market and the differential performance of various tokens in a broader market environment. Since January, the prices of L1Tokens have surged by over 7000%. In the rapidly developing encryption field, some unexpected Tokens have become the top performers of the year.