6 Minutes
Real Usage Drives Blockchain Growth in 2025
In 2025, blockchain expansion is being driven less by speculative hype and more by measurable user engagement, technical upgrades and real-world integrations. From Layer-1 (L1) foundations to Layer-2 (L2) scaling solutions, networks are competing to onboard millions of active users through low fees, smoother developer tools and richer DeFi and NFT experiences. Below we rank the top 10 fastest-growing blockchains by active monthly addresses and outline what’s fueling — and limiting — their adoption.
Criteria for ranking
Our ranking prioritizes active users, defined as unique wallet addresses that complete at least one transaction in a month. We also note whether a project is an L1 or L2, list supporting metrics such as token trading volume and fully diluted valuation (FDV), and summarize the main growth drivers and key challenges. FDV reflects the theoretical market value assuming all tokens are issued at the current price and helps signal relative valuation risk.
Top 10 fastest-growing blockchains (by active monthly addresses)
1. Solana (L1)
Monthly active users: 57 million | FDV: $107.2M | 30-day token trading volume: $284.2B
Why it’s growing: Solana’s proof-of-history design enables thousands of transactions per second, attracting DeFi, NFT activity and high-frequency memecoin trading. Infrastructure improvements such as the Firedancer validator client have also helped institutional adoption.
Challenges: Historical outages, centralization concerns and competition from L2 scaling options remain headwinds for long-term reliability and trust.
2. Near Protocol (L1)
Monthly active users: 51.2 million | FDV: $3.1M | 30-day token trading volume: $7.8M
Why it’s growing: Near combines developer-friendly tooling with low fees and carbon-neutral operations. AI-native features for user agents, partnerships like EigenLayer for fast finality, and an expanding DeFi and gaming ecosystem are major pull factors.
Challenges: Faster L1s and L2s pose competition, and sharding complexity introduces potential technical risks.
3. BNB Chain (L1)
Monthly active users: 46.4 million | FDV: $121.2B | 30-day token trading volume: $56.1B
Why it’s growing: EVM compatibility, short block times (0.75s) and integrations with AI data ownership features drive activity.
Challenges: Centralization and regulatory scrutiny tied to its Binance backing.
4. Base (Ethereum L2)
Monthly active users: 21.5 million | FDV: $2.92B
Why it’s growing: Built by Coinbase, Base benefits from ultra-low average fees (~$0.01) and a potential onboarding pipeline of 100M+ Coinbase users. Stablecoin flows and consumer-focused DApps add momentum.
Challenges: Congestion from rapid adoption, dependence on Ethereum’s security model and evolving regulatory oversight.
5. Tron (L1)
Monthly active users: 14.4 million | FDV: $33.5B | 30-day token trading volume: $51.7B
Why it’s growing: Very low transaction costs, content-focused use cases and integrations like Telegram and Rumble Cloud.
Challenges: Regulatory pressure and centralization risks persist.
6. Bitcoin (L1)
Monthly active users: 10.8 million | FDV: $2.3T | 30-day token trading volume: $1.3T
Why it’s growing: Institutional inflows, notably via Bitcoin ETFs (professional investors held $27.4B in ETF holdings as of Q4 2024), limited supply dynamics and use as a strategic reserve sustain adoption.
Challenges: High energy consumption and macro-driven price volatility.
7. Aptos (L1)
Monthly active users: 10 million | FDV: $5.3B | 30-day token trading volume: $13B
Why it’s growing: High throughput (peaks of ~19,200 TPS), the Move programming language for secure contracts and partnerships such as Tether’s USDT deployment.
Challenges: Needs broader developer and user adoption to challenge established L1s.
8. Ethereum (L1)
Monthly active users: 9.6 million | FDV: $522.7B | 30-day token trading volume: $1.1T
Why it’s growing: A dominant smart contract ecosystem, upgrades like Pectra for better UX and institutional staking and ETF interest help sustain network activity.
Challenges: Scalability constraints, higher fees than some rivals and regulatory scrutiny.
9. Polygon (L2 / multichain)
Monthly active users: 7.2 million | FDV: $2.6B | 30-day token trading volume: $4.2B
Why it’s growing: Multichain scaling, EVM compatibility and upgrades like Heimdall v2 improve interoperability; enterprise partnerships boost credibility.
Challenges: Regulatory focus under frameworks like MiCA and competition among Ethereum L2s.
10. Arbitrum One (Ethereum L2)
Monthly active users: 4 million | FDV: $5.1B | 30-day token trading volume: $14.3B
Why it’s growing: Optimistic rollups offer cheaper, faster transactions while leveraging Ethereum’s security. Integrations like Robinhood and upgrades such as Stylus lower fees and widen use cases.
Challenges: Reliance on Ethereum mainnet security, regulatory uncertainty and rivalry with other rollup providers.
Trends powering user growth
Several clear trends are driving adoption across these blockchains: stablecoin usage (USDT and USDC) is raising transaction volumes and liquidity; Layer-2 scaling reduces costs to cents per transaction and makes DeFi/NFT apps more accessible; mainstream platform integrations and institutional capital (notably Bitcoin ETFs) validate the sector and accelerate onboarding.
Key risks and the path forward
Despite rapid user gains, networks face inflated metrics from bots and dormant addresses, trade-offs between scalability and decentralization, regulatory uncertainty around stablecoins and illicit activity, and fierce competition between L1s and L2s. To sustain growth, projects are investing in bot detection, regulatory compliance, improved scaling architectures and unique value propositions such as AI-native features and tokenized assets.
Measuring active users remains the clearest signal of real adoption. As the industry matures in 2025, the winners will be networks that combine robust technology, transparent governance and seamless on-ramps for mainstream audiences.
Source: cointelegraph
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