Modularity won. Now what?
4,000+ chains scanned
1,973 unique chains
L1s, L2s, L3s, rollups, RaaS, VMs, explorers — all indexed.
Here’s what you need to know about the State of the Market in Q1 2025 🧵
1/ Virtual Machines: the great fragmentation
– EVM still dominates (86%+), but its share is declining
– WASM and CosmWasm grow, esp. in Cosmos/Substrate chains
– zkVMs gain traction at L2
– L3s still overwhelmingly EVM (98.8%)
EVM dominates, but alternative VMs are emerging. Future blockchain innovation hinges on their scalability, specialization, and interoperability, creating a modular, multi-VM Web3 infrastructure.
2/ Layer 1s: sovereign and modular
– 1,453 L1s indexed
– Cosmos, Polkadot, Avalanche dominate (98% of L1 ecosystems)
– Appchain architecture wins: modularity, sovereignty, IBC/XCM support
The Layer 1 ecosystem demands modularity, composability, and sovereignty for success. Cosmos, Polkadot, Avalanche, and SagaOS lead, while smaller ecosystems must specialize and innovate to stand out.
⚠️ Ethereum excluded from L1 count — it’s treated as a foundational base layer.
3/ Layer 2s: the new default execution layer
– 460 L2s tracked
– OP Stack leads (37.5%), followed by Bitcoin-based L2s (23.6%) and Arbitrum (17.7%)
– zk adoption growing via Polygon, zkSync, StarkEx
– L2 = rollup standardization meets ecosystem war
OP Stack + RaaS = default for new rollups.
The Layer 2 ecosystem is highly modular, diverse, and competitive. OP Stack and Arbitrum excel in scalability, while zk-based frameworks and native rollups reshape privacy and composability. Future success hinges on ecosystem alignment, cross-chain connectivity, and flexible modular infrastructure.
4/ Layer 3s: application-specific and early-stage
– 60 L3s indexed
– Arbitrum Orbit dominates (41.4%), followed by Base, OP Stack, Superchain-native chains
– 55% still on testnet
– L3 = vertical-specific logic: gaming, DePIN, AI, agents
Welcome to the modular UX hub: Layer 3 is evolving with open-access RaaS platforms, native rollup SDKs, and a growing demand for specialized execution settings.
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