July Layer 1 Landscape Recap

Crypto markets often exhibit a tendency to quickly latch onto memetic trends and narratives, regardless of technical accuracy or strength of investment fundamentals. In recent years, this behavior has become more apparent in both crypto and traditional financial markets, exemplified by the viral rise and fall of Dogecoin (DOGE) and GameStop (GME) in the frenzied bull market of 2021. These phenomena, fueled in part by the accelerating pace of information transmission and growth of digital trading platforms, become further amplified in the high-octane, 24/7 crypto markets, where money now flows almost effortlessly across sovereign borders and various blockchain networks. 

Recently, at the end of July, a memecoin called Bald - in reference to Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong - rocketed up to a market cap of over $80 million within 48 hours of launch on the newly deployed Base mainnet, highlighting the speed and magnitude with which on-chain capital can flood into specific pockets of the crypto ecosystem when the market’s attention is fixed on a single theme (and potential source of profit). Although the Bald saga, in particular, was short-lived, the continuous flow of users, attention, and capital across blockchains every day can provide valuable insights into broader trends and behaviors. In this monthly recap of the Layer 1 (L1) blockchain landscape in July, we will delve into some of the key developments and emerging themes across L1 ecosystems over the past month.