Layer 1 Tokens Plummet in 2025: OAK Research Insights

Generally, People Think Blockchain Tokens Are Really Volatile, And 2025 Was No Exception. Apparently, Bitcoin Stayed Pretty Stable, But Alternative Layer 1 Tokens Got Hammered, Losing A Lot Of Value. Usually, This Kind Of Thing Happens When There Are Problems With The Token’s Economics And Market Positioning. Naturally, The Market Doesn’t Like Protocols That Can’t Show Any Real Economic Activity.

Overall Performance

Obviously, The Year Was Tough For Layer 1 Blockchain Tokens, With Most Of Them Losing Value. Sometimes, It Seems Like The Market Is Punishing Protocols That Don’t Have A Clear Plan For Making Money. Normally, You Would Expect To See Some Growth, But Instead, There Was A Big Decline In Value. Basically, The Market Is Looking For Protocols That Can Demonstrate Real Economic Value.

User Activity

Interestingly, The Year Saw A Big Shift In Users, Rather Than Any Real Growth. Typically, You Would Expect To See An Increase In Total Monthly Active Users, But Instead, There Was A Decline Of 25.15% Across Major Chains. Usually, This Kind Of Thing Happens When Users Lose Interest In A Particular Platform. Notably, Solana Had The Biggest Drop, Losing Nearly 94 Million Users, Which Is Over 60% Of Its User Base.

Token Performance

Generally, The Performance Of Major Layer 1 Tokens Was Pretty Bad. Apparently, Only Two Tokens Finished The Year With Any Gains, While The Rest Lost Value. Sometimes, It Seems Like The Market Is Really Unforgiving, With Tokens Like TON And AVAX Losing Over 67% Of Their Value. Normally, You Would Expect To See Some Stability, But Instead, There Was A Lot Of Volatility.

Developer Activity

Fortunately, Developer Activity Remained Strong In Some Ecosystems, Despite The Price Declines. Usually, This Kind Of Thing Happens When Developers Are Really Passionate About A Project. Notably, The EVM Stack Had The Largest Developer Base, With 17,473 Total Contributors, Including 5,405 Full-Time Developers. Apparently, This Represents Over 32% Of Activity, Which Is Pretty Impressive.

Shift to Revenue-Focused Protocols

Obviously, The Key Lesson Of 2025 Was The Importance Of Having A Clear Plan For Making Money. Sometimes, It Seems Like Protocols That Don’t Have A Path To Revenue Generation Are Doomed To Fail. Normally, You Would Expect To See Protocols Focusing On Technological Innovation, But Instead, There Was A Shift Towards Revenue-Focused Protocols. Notably, Stablecoin Issuers Dominated Revenue Generation, Accounting For 76% Of Income Among Top Protocols.

Outlook for 2026

Generally, The Outlook For 2026 Is Pretty Cautious, With Infrastructure Tokens Facing Continued Challenges. Apparently, High Inflation Schedules, Insufficient Demand For Governance Rights, And Concentration Of Value Capture In Base Layers Suggest Further Consolidation. Sometimes, It Seems Like The Market Is Really Unpredictable, And Protocols That Generate Meaningful Revenue May Stabilize, But Are Still Subject To Bitcoin’s Volatility.

Conclusion

Normally, You Would Expect To See Some Positives In A Market Report, But 2025 Was A Tough Year For Layer 1 Blockchain Tokens. Obviously, The Market’s Focus On Fundamental Value Creation And Revenue Generation Offers A Path Forward For Protocols That Can Demonstrate Real Economic Activity. Generally, The Outlook Remains Cautious, With Further Consolidation Expected In The Altcoin Market.