Author: Stella L ( [email protected] )
Data source: Footprint Analytics public chain research page
In January 2025, the total market value of the crypto market increased by 7.2% to $2.8 trillion, with major blockchain platforms performing differently. Under the dual influence of new regulatory policies and breakthroughs in artificial intelligence infrastructure technology, Bitcoin strengthened its market dominance to 71.3%.
Market Overview
Bitcoin rose from $94,577 to $102,180, an increase of 8.0%. Ethereum, on the other hand, was weak, falling from $3,353 to $3,292, a drop of 1.8%, and the ETH/BTC ratio hit a new low since September 2024.
Several important policy developments significantly impacted the crypto market. The Trump administration’s cryptocurrency regulatory executive order provided unprecedented clarity to the industry, with a particular emphasis on protecting self-custody rights and supporting stablecoin development. However, market sentiment cooled at the end of the month as Trump’s comments on international trade tariffs raised concerns about global economic growth.
The Trump family’s launch of $TRUMP and $MELANIA tokens on Solana has sparked a wave of volatility in the Memecoin sector. This wave of speculation has significantly diverted market attention and funding from other crypto sectors, including the blockchain gaming sector.
DeepSeek’s breakthrough in artificial intelligence also influenced market dynamics. This development accelerated the focus on decentralized AI infrastructure in the crypto ecosystem, and AI-related tokens rose this month.
Layer 1
In January 2025, the total market value of blockchain climbed 7.2% to $2.8 trillion, and Bitcoin's market dominance further increased to 71.3%. Ethereum's share continued to decline to 14.0%, while Solana once again surpassed BNB chain (3.4%) with a market share of 4.0%. Other public chains together accounted for 7.4% of the market share.
Solana continued its strong performance, increasing its market cap by 22.0% to $112.3 billion, solidifying its position as the third largest blockchain by market cap.
Among the top 20 chains by market cap, Stellar stood out with a sharp increase in market cap to $12.6 billion, while Litecoin and Monero rose by 23.5% and 21.6% respectively. Cardano's market cap increased by 11.9% to $33.2 billion.
Emerging platforms maintained their momentum, with Sui maintaining a stable market cap of $12.4 billion amid intensifying competition. TON maintained its position in the top 10 despite a 14.0% drop in market cap to $12 billion. Hedera showed good growth, with a 14.2% increase in market cap to $11.7 billion.
Traditional Layer 1 platforms such as Polkadot, Near, and Aptos came under pressure, with market capitalization falling between 3.7% and 7.5%.
Bitcoin Layer 2 & Sidechains
In January 2025, Bitcoin Layer 2 and side chains maintained their growth trend, with total locked value reaching US$2.6 billion, an increase of 5.2% from December.
Core maintained its market leadership with $660 million TVL, still accounting for 25.3% of the market despite a 9.3% drop from December. Bitlayer saw strong growth, with a 15.2% increase in TVL to $430 million (16.8% market share), while BSquared performed well, with a 19.7% increase in TVL to $400 million (15.3% market share).
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%, respectively. It is worth noting that AILayer TVL increased by 13.2% to $230 million.
Among mid-cap platforms, Merlin TVL fell modestly by 3.7% to $170 million, while Stacks maintained steady growth, up 4.0% to $120 million. Smaller platforms had mixed performances, with BounceBit up 7.3%, while new entrants such as SatoshiVM and Naka fell by 11.6% and 14.9%, respectively.
Ethereum Layer 2
In January 2025, the Ethereum Layer 2 ecosystem changed significantly, with total locked value falling to $18.3 billion, down 6.7% from December. Market leaders showed divergent performance.
Arbitrum maintained its leadership with a TVL of $6.8 billion, despite a sharp drop of 20.4% from December. Base continued its strong momentum, with a TVL increase of 14.0% to $4.6 billion, consolidating its second position. Optimism remained in third place with a TVL of $3 billion, only slightly down 0.5%.
Among the best performing platforms, World Chain performed well, with TVL increasing by 27.6% to $350 million, while Paradex surged by 50.3% to $37.2 million. ZK Rollups showed resilience, with Starknet and zkSync Era increasing by 7.4% and 12.2% respectively, reaching TVLs of $900 million and $610 million.
Some mature platforms are facing challenges, with Blast TVL falling 33.8% to $400 million and Fuel falling 47.3% to $110 million. Linea and Scroll also fell 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 new entrants join the ecosystem, established platforms focus on consolidating their market position by improving functionality and user experience.
