More ‘monolithic’ blockchains in September – VanEck
Monolithic blockchains — networks that combine different layers into a unified architecture — outperformed in September, according to VanEck's latest “Crypto Monthly Recap.”
The report cited price gains of 14%, 118% and 23% for Solana (SOL), Sui (SUI) and Aptos (APT).
Sui's performance increased 140% in daily active addresses in September, pushing the digital asset past a market capitalization of $5-billion.
VanEck researchers also pointed to Aptos' recent Raptor software upgrade as the main driver behind the network's 30% month-over-month gain in daily active addresses.
A daily active address for Solana, Sui and Aptos between January 2024 and September 2024 is considered. Source: VanEick
Related: Solana May Hit $330 and ETH Market Cap 50% – VanEck Research
Monolithic blockchains, the killers of Ethereum?
Monolithic blockchains are more efficient and exhibit higher throughput than modular blockchains. Earlier in 2024, Pantera Capital described Solana as a MacOS blockchain, with a deliberate decision to build a “vertically integrated” protocol.
The venture capital firm likened Solana's approach to a strategy of in-house development of both the software and hardware components of the platforms.
The high throughput and cheap transaction costs on blockchains like Solana and Sui make these monolithic chains attractive platforms for micropayments, asset tokens and non-perishable tokens (NFTs).
A recent report by Sygnum Bank highlighted Solana's viability as a payment network and its potential to “seriously challenge” the dominance of Ethereum as a Layer-1 blockchain.
Ethereum price action. Source: TradingView
VanEck's previous report noted that significant reductions in payment and transaction times from new layer-1 competitors were factors eroding Ethereum's market share.
The researchers confirmed that market valuation is currently the main use case for public blockchains. He explained that lower transaction costs with higher throughput layer-1 blockchains would encourage users to migrate from Ethereum.
The asset manager also found that this migration was partly responsible for Ethereum's poor price performance in 2024.
The price of Ethereum fell by 12% from October 1 to October 3. The digital asset has been trading well above the 200-day moving average (EMA) – a critical, volatile support level – since August 2024.
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