The blockchain boom has accelerated, leading to a surge in active networks. DefiLlama now tracks over 500 channels, highlighting the scale of this growth.
Although many new channels have been launched, only a few have achieved lasting success. Alchemy lists 64 such chains, each with a significant market capitalization.
Among these chains, some have recorded significant growth and dominate the market. Conversely, others have experienced a near collapse in demand, with fewer users despite high market capitalization.
Channels with high market cap but few active users
Despite the blockchain boom, some chains have failed to deliver on their promises and have continually declined.
For starters, even though XDC Network saw its market cap drop by $2 billion to $644 million, it remains among the top 100 cryptocurrencies.
Despite its high market capitalization, the network has seen a significant decline in the number of active users.
Source: Token terminal
The number of daily addresses decreased by 84.38%, from 288,000 in 2021 to 45,000. Active users fell to 16,000. As a result, its native token, XDC, declined by 62.5% on the annualized charts.
Celestia is another channel that could be considered a ghost channel. Celestia has experienced significant weaknesses, particularly in terms of adoption rates and overall market demand.
Celestia usage activity has declined steadily since 2024, when it peaked at 36,000. In fact, the network’s active addresses have dropped 96.92% from the peak of 39,000 in 2023, to 1.2,000 at the time of writing.
Source: Token Terminal
Such a massive drop in active users suggests a reduction in demand and participation in the network.
As active addresses decrease, this has had a direct impact on the native token, TIA. As such, TIA is down 98.2% from its ATH and is currently trading at around $0.35.
The sustainability of the Tezos network is under threat
Tezos has seen a significant decline in its network usage despite having a market capitalization above $400 million. Usage of the channel has almost collapsed, as evidenced by fee and revenue data.
According to data from Artemis, Tezos fees and revenues have decreased by 68% over the past year. A decline in both indicators indicates reduced network activity and participation.
Source: Artemis
In the absence of real demand, its native token, XTZ, has fallen 95% from its ATH and 47% over the past year, reflecting continued weakness.
What the drop means for native tokens
Notably, a continued decline in the user base indicates low demand for the respective on-chain tokens. As observed above, Celestia (TIA), Tezos (XTZ), and XDC Network (XDC) all saw massive losses during this period of weakness.
Therefore, if these chains continue to see poor usage, their respective tokens will also continue to decline. This shows the direct correlation between token prices and network usage.
At the same time, if demand for these networks rebounds, we could see the tokens regain their upside potential.
Final Thoughts
- The blockchain boom saw an increase in the number of chains, reaching 513 followed chains, of which 64 were very active.
- Despite this sharp rise, some channels have become ghost channels, with low user activity and high market capitalization.
