October ‘24 L1 Landscape Recap

October was a turbulent month for crypto markets, driven by growing uncertainty in the lead-up to the U.S. presidential election in early November. Amid this volatility, layer 1 (L1) blockchains experienced heightened activity, marked by increased trading and speculation. Solana, in particular, saw a notable spike in on-chain trading volumes, fueled by renewed interest in AI memecoins. This report delves into the key L1 metrics from October and highlights emerging narratives likely to shape crypto market trends in the months ahead.

Most L1 blockchains saw their valuations decline over the course of October, likely due to market participants de-risking prior to the U.S. elections on November 5th. Among the largest smart contract platforms, Ethereum was a notable underperformer, with a month-over-month valuation decline of ~3.1%. Over the same period, the price of BTC rose by ~14.2%, highlighting the market’s relative confidence in the world’s largest and increasingly institutionalized crypto asset.