May 2024 L1 Landscape Recap

May was another momentous month for crypto, with renewed U.S. political support and the surprise approval of an Ethereum ETF by the SEC bringing fresh attention to the industry. However, despite this increased interest from mainstream audiences, on-chain metrics suggest a more subdued reaction in terms of user activity than one might expect, with the exception of a few notable outliers. In this report, we recap some of the key trends and moments in the Layer 1 (L1) landscape in May. 

After about 2 months of drawdowns in the crypto markets, L1 valuations rebounded dramatically in late May following the spread of rumors that the SEC would, unexpectedly, approve an Ethereum ETF. A total of 8 ETFs were ultimately approved, which had a major positive impact on the price of ETH.