Layer 1 tokens lose strength in 2025 due to migration.
Layer 1 tokens will face structural pressure in 2025.
Bitcoin expands its dominance as users migrate from networks.
Fragile tokenomics accelerates the fall of altcoins.
Layer 1 blockchain tokens faced a difficult year in 2025, with significant price drops and a shrinking user base, while Bitcoin maintained relative strength and expanded its market dominance. This assessment is part of a year-end report from OAK Research, which points to relevant changes in investor behavior and network usage.
According to the study, the pressure on layer 1 altcoins exposed structural weaknesses, especially in projects that failed to demonstrate consistent economic value generation. The market began to penalize protocols with limited use, even those that maintained technical activity and continuous development.
Usage metrics reinforce this trend. The total number of monthly active users fell by more than 25% among the main blockchains analyzed. Solana registered the largest decline, losing approximately 94 million users, representing a reduction of over 60%. Conversely, BNB Chain nearly tripled its user base, attracting users who migrated from other networks in search of lower costs and greater operational predictability.
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In the tier 2 segment, the scenario was also uneven. Base stood out for its growth in Total Value Locked (TVL), driven by distribution via Coinbase. Optimism, on the other hand, faced a significant capital contraction as resources were redirected to competing solutions. Other tokens, such as zkSync Era, Polygon, and Arbitrum, ended the year with significant losses, despite technical advancements.
The report identified three key factors for the negative performance: excessively leveraged tokenomics, with constant unlock schedules; a lack of efficient value capture mechanisms that connect network usage to token demand; and institutional preference for Bitcoin and Ethereum over lower-capitalization assets.
Even with the devaluation of tokens, developer activity remained strong in some ecosystems. Data cited from Electric Capital shows that the EVM architecture continues to lead in the number of developers, while Bitcoin has seen the largest growth in full-time professionals in the last two years. Solana and the SVM ecosystem have also maintained continuous technical expansion.
In terms of revenue, stablecoin issuers and derivatives platforms dominated the landscape. Tether and Circle concentrated a large portion of the sector's annual income, while generic layer 1 and layer 2 networks, without clear differentiation, lost relevance. The outlook for 2026 suggests consolidation, with greater capital concentration in protocols capable of demonstrating real economic utility and sustainable revenue generation models.
Disclaimer:
The views and opinions expressed by the author, or anyone mentioned in this article, are for informational purposes only and do not constitute financial, investment or other advice. Investing or trading cryptocurrencies carries a risk of financial loss.
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BNB Now Available on Gemini in a Milestone for US Users’ Access
Binance Coin (BNB) is now available on the US crypto exchange Gemini, giving users another option to trade and store the altcoin. Notably, the update allows Gemini customers to access BNB $841.9 24h volatility: 0.8% Market cap: $115.94 B Vol. 24h: $988.81 M directly on a regulated American platform.
According to a recent Gemini announcement, the exchange now supports BNB $841.9 24h volatility: 0.8% Market cap: $115.94 B Vol. 24h: $988.81 M , which can be traded and held on its platform. Users can buy, sell, and keep the token using Gemini’s custody services. This is an essential milestone for BNB because Gemini is known for taking a careful approach when adding new assets, especially in the United States.
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BNB was created in 2017 by Binance and later became the main asset of the BNB Chain. At first, it was mainly used to get lower trading fees on the Binance exchange. Today, BNB is used to pay network fees and support activity across many apps built on the BNB Chain.
Gemini pointed out that BNB has long been tied to fee discounts and promotions on Binance, depending on certain conditions. While Gemini and Binance are separate companies, the listing allows US users to access BNB without relying on overseas platforms.
This follows other notable developments Gemini has introduced in recent weeks. Gemini recently launched a new prediction market platform known as Gemini Predictions, now accessible in all 50 US states via its website and iOS app.
Binance Coin (BNB) Amid Altcoin Drawdown
The listing comes during a difficult period for most altcoins. Data shows that interest in smaller cryptocurrencies has remained low for much of the year. Many popular tokens have seen sharp price drops. ADA $0.36 24h volatility: 1.8% Market cap: $13.09 B Vol. 24h: $645.55 M has fallen well below past levels (-60% this year), and XRP $1.87 24h volatility: 0.5% Market cap: $113.51 B Vol. 24h: $1.97 B has also lost much of its earlier gains (-14%).
Despite this trend, Binance Coin (BNB) has held up better than many other altcoins. As of writing, BNB is trading at $841.63, after reaching an all-time high on October 6.
Some industry leaders have questioned whether many altcoins can survive long-term. This has pushed more investors toward BTC $88 747 24h volatility: 1.5% Market cap: $1.77 T Vol. 24h: $38.19 B , which is still seen as the safest option in crypto. In this climate, Gemini’s decision to list Binance Coin (BNB) shows that the coin continues to meet exchange standards. The move places BNB among a small group of altcoins now gaining access to major US platforms.
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Yana Khlebnikova joined CoinSpeaker as an editor in January 2025, after previous stints at Techopedia, crypto.news, Cointelegraph, and CoinMarketCap, where she honed her expertise in cryptocurrency journalism.
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Resilient NFT market posts 10% weekly rebound as Ethereum, Bitcoin and BNB Chain volumes diverge
After weeks of declining sentiment, the global NFT market has posted a rare upswing in trading activity, signaling renewed resilience among leading blockchains and collections.
Summary
Global NFT market volume breaks three-week slide
Shift from speculative hype to utility-focused NFTs
Ethereum leads weekly NFT market blockchain rankings
Bitcoin, Polygon and Mythos Chain show divergent trends
Top NFT collections by weekly sales
Biggest individual NFT sales of the week
Outlook for the NFT market into 2026
Global NFT market volume breaks three-week slide
The global non-fungible token space continues to show resilience despite the prolonged crypto and NFT downturn, with many NFT collections still trading more than 60% below their January 2025 peaks. However, over the past seven days, on-chain data shows a clear rebound in activity.
According to figures compiled by CryptoSlam, a multi-chain market data aggregator, the crypto NFT market recorded $69 million in trading sales volume in the last week. That total represents a more than 10% increase week-over-week and ends a downtrend that had persisted for over three weeks.
The upswing arrives in the middle of an extended NFT winter that began in November and has pushed many floor prices below 5 ETH. Moreover, the latest data suggests sentiment is stabilizing even as overall valuations remain depressed compared to the last cycle.
Shift from speculative hype to utility-focused NFTs
Industry observers note that the current environment differs markedly from the speculative peaks of 2021 6. In 2025, the main motivation for buying NFTs has shifted from short-term flips to longer-term utility and more predictable ownership structures.
That said, the broader NFT art market has not disappeared. Instead, it is evolving into more sustainable ecosystems where gaming assets, tokenized real-world items and access passes coexist with digital art. This transition is a key pillar of ongoing nft market development and helps explain why volumes can rise even as prices stay far from previous highs.
Seen through this lens, the latest jump in global NFT trading sales volume highlights how user engagement and on-chain activity, rather than pure speculation, are increasingly driving the sector.
Ethereum leads weekly NFT market blockchain rankings
Ethereum, which still hosts the majority of NFT collections, remained the dominant chain by volume over the past week. Ethereum-based NFT series generated $27 million in trading sales, a 29% increase compared with the previous week and a sign of renewed interest in blue-chip collections and established marketplaces.
While Ethereum nft sales continue to set the benchmark, other ecosystems showed a mixed performance. BNB Chain, a high-performance network focused on low-cost, fast transactions, was the second most traded blockchain for NFTs during the period but moved in the opposite direction.
BNB Chain NFTs amassed $8.4 million in trading volume for the week, marking a 24% decline versus the prior seven days. However, BNB Chain still retained a strong position in the ranking, underlining the chain’s importance for cost-sensitive NFT users and emerging gaming projects.
Bitcoin, Polygon and Mythos Chain show divergent trends
Bitcoin, which underpins Runes, BRC-20 assets and Ordinal inscriptions, ranked as the third most traded NFT blockchain this past week. Bitcoin-based NFT series posted $9.1 million in trading sales volume, representing a 36% surge from the previous week and evidencing continued interest in Bitcoin ordinal NFTs.
Polygon, the popular Ethereum scaling solution, also demonstrated solid momentum. Over the past 30 days, Polygon NFT activity reached $5.1 million in trading sales, while weekly volume jumped 54% compared with the previous period. Moreover, part of that increase stems from growing adoption of Polygon RWA NFTs tied to real-world assets.
Mythos Chain, a Polkadot-based ecosystem geared toward Web3 gaming, rounded out the top five most traded NFT blockchains. Mythos Chain-based collections amassed $4.5 million in trading sales over the week, up 69% from the previous period. This strong performance underscores the role of Mythos Chain gaming assets in driving niche demand.
Top NFT collections by weekly sales
At the collection level, a familiar name topped the charts. DMarket, which represents in-game virtual items from several online titles, ranked as the number one series by weekly sales. It generated $4.4 million in trading volume, up 71% compared with the previous week, reinforcing the influence of gaming-linked assets.
Milady Maker came in second among the top NFT collections, posting $4.2 million in sales, a 40% week-over-week increase. Courtyard, a Polygon-based collection featuring randomly generated digital items, placed third with $4 million in trading sales, climbing 71.92% from the prior week.
Guild of Guardians Heroes, connected to the multiplayer mobile game Guild of Guardians, recorded $2.1 million in trading sales, up 11.29% on a weekly basis. However, not all collections advanced: Yes Bond, hosted on BNB Chain, notched $2 million in trading sales but slipped 2.59% from the previous week.
Biggest individual NFT sales of the week
Beyond aggregate volumes, several single collectibles also drew attention. Token Vesting Plans #4585 was the week’s top sale, changing hands for $671,387. The second-largest transaction involved gUSDC #534, which sold for $400,000 and highlighted continuing demand for high-value tokenized positions.
In third place, Wang.btc fetched $362,729, while Strike Perp Position recorded a sale of $37,867. These figures, although well below peak bull-market valuations, still signal that deep-pocketed buyers are active across select segments.
Such headline trades often influence short-term sentiment. However, analysts emphasize that broader liquidity and user growth remain more important indicators than isolated big-ticket deals when assessing the overall health of the NFT market.
Outlook for the NFT market into 2026
Despite the recent uptick, few analysts expect a rapid return to the frenzied heights seen in 2021 6. The NFT sector reached its lowest monthly trading sales volume of the year in November, when turnover dropped to $320 million, down 49% from October’s $629 million.
Even so, several market researchers suggest that the current consolidation could lay the groundwork for a more measured recovery. Some forecasts indicate that the sector may stage another hype phase before the end of Q1 2026, especially if macro conditions stabilize and new consumer applications emerge.
In summary, the latest data paints a picture of an industry in transition rather than collapse, with resilient volumes across multiple chains and use cases supporting a more mature, utility-driven future for NFTs.