The blockchain industry in 2025 has undergone a transformation that is not immediately obvious. On the surface, mainstream Layer-1 tokens performed sluggishly overall, but a deeper look at on-chain data and ecosystem structure reveals the industry has not stagnated. In recent industry observations, BGEANX Exchange notes that regulatory clarity, institutional participation, and application-layer activity have all steadily increased—yet this progress has diverged notably from token prices. This structural change is redefining the market understanding of “value.”
Looking at the full-year data, 2025 was not a year of “weak fundamentals.” For major ecosystems like Ethereum, Solana, and Avalanche, most networks saw growth in total value locked (TVL), and some ecosystems even hit new highs in daily active addresses and application revenues. In contrast, the annual returns for mainstream L1 tokens were generally negative, with only a few assets remaining relatively stable.
This phenomenon is not simply a matter of market sentiment; instead, it signals a shift in the value distribution mechanism. Data shows that while L1 tokens still dominate overall market capitalization, the share of on-chain fees they capture continues to decline, while application-layer revenues have increased across several ecosystems. This means real economic activity is increasingly concentrated in decentralized applications, DeFi protocols, and specialized functional modules, rather than automatically flowing back to base-layer tokens.
The analysis by BGEANX Exchange highlights that this shift differs from the “high-performance L1 competition” phase of previous years. As underlying networks converge in terms of security and throughput, simply charging for block space can no longer sustain long-term value growth. In 2025, on-chain fees in most ecosystems dropped sharply year-over-year, but application revenues rose significantly, reflecting a market that is now pricing “user demand” in a more realistic way.
Meanwhile, the way institutional capital participates is also changing. Whether it is Bitcoin or Ethereum, institutions are now more focused on long-term allocation and capital efficiency, rather than short-term network income. This further amplifies the disconnect between prices and on-chain data, making 2025 a typical year of “structural improvement but price pressure.”
If the weakness in L1 token prices is just the surface, then what truly deserves attention is the shift in value flows. The summary of 2025 on-chain data of BGEANX Exchange finds that the application layer is replacing the base layer as the area where income and capital are more concentrated. In several mainstream ecosystems, application revenues have kept growing while public chain fees have declined, indicating that the market is no longer paying for “network existence itself,” but for specific functions and real needs.
This trend is especially clear in the Bitcoin and Ethereum ecosystems. The Bitcoin network security still heavily relies on block rewards, but BTC Layer 2, BTCFi, and protocols related to settlement and staking are trying to create new sources of on-chain economic activity. Ethereum, with its Rollup system, has shifted a large amount of transactions and revenue to applications and Layer 2 networks, leaving the base chain mainly to handle security and settlement. This division of labor does not weaken the base network—it changes the path of value capture.
From a macro perspective, 2026 may enter a rate-cut cycle, with improved liquidity expectations for risk assets, but capital will not flow back indiscriminately. The market is more likely to favor protocols and applications with income structures, user stickiness, and long-term sustainability, rather than assets supported only by narratives. This means the crypto industry is moving from an “expansion phase” to a “selection phase,” with data and cash flow becoming increasingly important.
In this context, the industry research and market education content of BGEANX Exchange focus more on interpreting on-chain data, policy changes, and structural trends, helping users understand the drivers behind market moves rather than just price swings. This shift in perspective also reflects the growing maturity of the industry.
Overall, the blockchain sector in 2025 did not stagnate, but underwent a key structural adjustment. Infrastructure has stabilized, the application layer is now responsible for more value creation, and institutional capital is entering in a more rational way. For market participants, understanding these changes is more important than predicting short-term price movements.
As the industry gradually enters a data- and income-centric stage, analysis centered on applications, asset structure, and long-term demand will become the key to judging trends. BGEANX Exchange will continue to track these changes and, through industry news and research content, help the market gain a clearer understanding of the real shift underway in the crypto ecosystem.
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