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Solana, Ethereum, and BNB Chain led L1 roles across speculation, settlement, and scale. Ethereum became a settlement while L2s like Base handled high volume and cheaper execution. Stablecoins, privacy chains, and performance L1s grew, driving fragmented niche usage. In 2025, global Layer 1 blockchain activity shifted despite weak token prices across major markets. Trading concentrated on Solana, BNB Chain, and Ethereum while stablecoins, privacy networks, and performance chains drove usage. These developments were driven by speculation, scaling limits, and rising demand for cheaper settlement. Speculation Concentrates on High-Throughput Chains Speculation shaped most retail activity in 2025, especially through memecoin trading on fast and cheap blockchains. Solana and BNB Chain handled much of this volume because they offer quick transactions and strong liquidity. In January, Solana’s decentralized exchange trading hit a record high, largely fueled by the TRUMP and MELANIA tokens. Those two memecoins accounted for about 48.5% of Solana’s January DEX activity. Pump.fun alone generated roughly 23% of Solana’s year-to-date application revenue. Because of this, launchpads played a key role in Solana’s activity during the height of speculation. But their influence dropped once memecoin hype cooled later in the year. Source: The Block Ethereum and BNB Chain then regained a larger share of DEX trading, leading to a more balanced market by mid-2025. This shift showed that Solana depended heavily on short bursts of speculative interest rather than a wide range of steady activity. BNB Chain, however, developed along a different path. Technical upgrades, including the Lorentz and Maxwell hard forks, reduced block times from three seconds to 0.75 seconds. These changes allowed the network to handle sudden activity spikes more efficiently. At the same time, cultural momentum redirected speculative flows toward BNB Chain-native platforms. Four.meme accounted for roughly 21.8% of BNB Chain’s year-to-date application revenue. Around this activity, DeFi usage consolidated around projects like Aster and Lista DAO. Ethereum and Its Settlement Role While speculation moved elsewhere, Ethereum strengthened its role as a settlement and data layer. Total value locked across Ethereum-based DeFi peaked above $97.5 billion during the year. Notably, Ethereum’s transaction count reached record levels, even as usage shifted toward Layer 2 networks. Base processed more than 3.3 billion transactions year-to-date, compared with roughly 473 million on the Ethereum mainnet. This divergence reflected Ethereum’s rollup-first roadmap. The Pectra hard fork reinforced this direction through execution and consensus upgrades. At the same time, mainnet fees dropped sharply. Average transaction costs fell from about $7.25 on January 1 to nearly $0.19 later in the year. These levels matched prices last seen in early 2020. Lower fees supported Ethereum’s function as a settlement layer rather than a high-frequency execution venue. Consequently, Ethereum absorbed value while pushing activity outward to Layer 2s. This structure allowed Ethereum to scale without directly competing on throughput. Stablecoins and Specialized L1s Shape 2026 Outlook Stablecoins became the biggest source of activity across major blockchains in 2025. Their total market value grew by about 45%, helped by more than $90 billion in new supply. This expansion supported things like memecoin trading, perpetual markets, prediction platforms, and increased use by institutions. Stablecoin balances on Solana jumped roughly 159% over the year, boosted by $4.5 billion in new USDC issued early on. Hyperliquid saw about 118% growth, mainly linked to higher perpetual futures trading. Aptos and Polygon also recorded strong gains of 142% and 76%, driven by BUIDL-related deployments. At the same time, new blockchains built specifically around stablecoins began to appear. These stablecoin-focused networks raised over $548 million in disclosed funding during 2025. Plasma quickly became the eighth-largest Layer 1 by stablecoin supply within three months of launch. Although Plasma’s activity later declined, new entrants continued to test the model. Stable launched in December, while Circle’s Arc and Stripe–Paradigm’s Tempo remained in testnet. These networks focused on compliance features, simplified fees, and on-chain foreign exchange. Related: The Role of Layer 1 Blockchains in the Crypto Ecosystem Specialization extended beyond stablecoins. Privacy-focused networks gained attention after Monero’s hashrate disruption involving Qubic. Following that episode, Zcash posted a 661% year-to-date increase, briefly surpassing Monero in market capitalization. Zcash’s integration with NEAR Protocol enabled cross-chain private transactions with selective disclosure. Shielded supply rose from about 9% in January to nearly 24% in November. At the same time, performance-focused chains like Monad and Fogo targeted lower latency trading through parallel execution and optimized validators. As 2026 gets closer, the main blockchain networks are starting to serve more specific purposes instead of all trying to do the same thing. Solana, Ethereum, BNB Chain, Zcash, Plasma, Monad, and others each settled into clearer roles in 2025, whether that was for trading, payments, privacy, speed, or stablecoin activity. Overall, the system became more spread out and specialized, shaped by how people actually use these networks instead of just following price trends. Disclaimer: The information provided by CryptoTale is for educational and informational purposes only and should not be considered financial advice. Always conduct your own research and consult with a professional before making any investment decisions. CryptoTale is not liable for any financial losses resulting from the use of the content. Tags Ethereum (ETH) News Solana (SOL) News Stablecoin News

The cryptocurrency networks and altcoins with the highest number of non-empty wallets have been revealed. Based on unique on-chain wallet address data, the list clearly shows the adoption level of the ecosystems and their changes over the past 30 days. Here are the altcoins with the highest number of token holders currently, according to the latest onchain data, and how this number has changed over the past month: BNB Chain (BNB) – 278.2 million users (+4.0%) Ethereum (ETH) – 276.3 million users (+1.7%) Tron (TRX) – 169.7 million users (0%) Solana (SOL) – 154.5 million users (+1.3%) TON (TON) – 142.6 million users (+1.3%) NEAR Protocol (NEAR) – 131.2 million users (+0.2%) Polygon (POL) – 121.9 million users (+4.2%) Bitcoin (BTC) – 75.2 million users (+0.7%) Aptos (APT) – 47.9 million users (0.0%) Flow (FLOW) – 41.9 million users (+0.5%) Mythos (MYTH) – 10.5 million users (+3.9%) Stellar (XLM) – 6.1 million users (+0.2%) Celo (CELO) – 5.9 million users (+0.8%) Hedera (HBAR) – 4.6 million users (+0.7%) peaq (PEAQ) – 3.2 million users (+0.6%) Related News Bitcoin Bull Arthur Hayes Did What He Said He Would: He Started Selling an Altcoin Today In total, according to onchain data, there are 1.4 billion wallets with balances in them. *This is not investment advice. Follow our Telegram and Twitter account now for exclusive news, analytics and on-chain data!

Select assets are showing superior structural resilience during market consolidation phases. Liquidity stability is increasingly favored over short-term price acceleration. Developer activity remains a critical metric for evaluating elite crypto networks. Market observers are increasingly focused on a small group of digital assets showing exceptional structural behavior during a cautious phase. Rather than momentum-driven rallies, attention has shifted toward networks demonstrating outstanding resilience, consistent development activity, and measurable on-chain stability. Analysts note that capital rotation appears selective, favoring assets with groundbreaking infrastructure progress and historically reliable liquidity conditions. This shift reflects a broader preference for remarkable risk-managed exposure instead of speculative excess. Within this context, Solana, Aerodrome Finance, XRP, Aptos, and Pi Network are being tracked for their phenomenal positioning across liquidity, adoption metrics, and ecosystem expansion. Their unmatched ability to retain attention during consolidation phases has positioned them as dynamic benchmarks for current market behavior. Solana (SOL): Unparalleled Throughput Amid Network Maturation Solana continues to be observed for its unmatched transaction efficiency and innovative validator improvements reported throughout recent development cycles. Network data shows steady fee normalization, suggesting a more sustainable usage environment. Analysts describe the structure as top-tier, supported by consistent decentralized application deployment without notable congestion. Aerodrome Finance (AERO): High-Yield Liquidity Mechanics Under Review Aerodrome Finance is being monitored due to its lucrative liquidity-routing design on Base. Reported metrics indicate rising participation without extreme volatility. Market participants classify the protocol as elite, noting its dynamic incentive framework and relatively stable total value locked behavior. XRP (XRP): Premier Settlement Utility Regains Focus XRP has re-entered analytical discussions as settlement volumes remain consistent across corridors. Its role as a transactional layer is described as revolutionary within payment-focused blockchain infrastructure. Observers highlight superior liquidity depth compared with similar assets. Aptos (APT): Innovative Architecture Shows Structural Strength Aptos continues to post steady developer activity, reinforcing its reputation as a groundbreaking Layer-1 network. Analysts report improving efficiency metrics and unmatched execution consistency. Its architecture remains a focal point for scalability-focused evaluations. Pi Network (PI): Remarkable Adoption Signals Without Market Volatility Pi Network stands out for its unparalleled user participation metrics. Despite limited exchange exposure, reported growth remains stellar. Observers describe its progress as profitable from an adoption perspective, rather than speculative pricing movement Tags: Aerodome Finance Crypto market cryptocurrency Meme Coin SOL XRP

Key Takeaways BitGo has introduced Aptos staking services specifically for institutional clients. Clients can stake APT tokens and earn rewards while using BitGo's secure custody platform. Share this article BitGo has launched Aptos staking services for institutional clients, the company announced today. Institutions can now stake APT directly through BitGo’s custody and wallet infrastructure. The service enables clients to earn staking rewards while maintaining assets under BitGo’s security framework. Aptos is a layer 1 blockchain network, and APT is its native token used for staking and network operations.