Ethereum no longer the clear L1 leader, says Nansen CEO at LONGITUDE event
Ethereum’s long-standing dominance as the leading Layer-1 (L1) blockchain is waning, with a new generation of competing networks rising rapidly in adoption and performance, according to Nansen CEO Alex Svanevik. Speaking at the LONGITUDE by Cointelegraph panel, Svanevik declared that the L1 race is now “open,” with no single chain holding an uncontested lead in the Web3 space.
Ethereum’s TVL dominance plunges from 96% to 51%
Once commanding nearly 96% of the total value locked (TVL) across all blockchains in 2021, Ethereum now accounts for just 51%, per DeFiLlama data. Although still the top chain in terms of TVL — with around $52 billion locked — Ethereum’s relative control has weakened as alternatives attract users with faster speeds, lower costs, and novel incentives.
“If you’d asked me 3–4 years ago whether Ethereum would dominate crypto, I’d have said yes,” Svanevik said. “But now, it’s clear that’s not what’s happening.”
Solana emerges as a serious Ethereum challenger
Among the rising stars, Solana (SOL) stands out as the leading L1 challenger. With higher throughput and significantly lower transaction costs, Solana has surpassed Ethereum in multiple on-chain metrics, according to Svanevik.
“Solana has overtaken Ethereum on most onchain metrics — active addresses, transaction volume, even gas fees,” he said. While Ethereum maintains an edge in TVL and stablecoin issuance, Solana’s explosive ecosystem growth is challenging Ethereum’s status as the go-to blockchain for developers and traders.
Smaller chains compete, but hype outweighs real adoption
Other L1s, including Avalanche, Sui, Aptos, and Sei, are also competing for market share. However, not all are gaining lasting traction, cautioned Vardan Khachatryan, Chief Legal Officer at Fastex.
“Unfortunately, what we see in reality is that chains become popular when they are the hype of that particular bull run — new coins, airdrops, etc. — rather than sustained adoption,” Khachatryan noted during the panel.
Despite the proliferation of L1s, only a few are showing signs of real ecosystem growth and long-term user retention, making it increasingly important to distinguish between bull-market hype cycles and genuine developer adoption.
Web3 infrastructure evolution continues
The insights from LONGITUDE suggest that Ethereum’s path to dominance is no longer guaranteed, and the blockchain landscape is becoming increasingly fragmented. With five to six L1s now emerging as legitimate contenders, the race to lead Web3 infrastructure remains wide open — a shift that could reshape user behavior, investment flows, and developer incentives throughout the next market cycle, according to Cointelegraph