Ethereum Outperforms Cryptocurrency Market in 2024
Over the course of 2024, Ethereum has significantly outperformed the cryptocurrency market, generating an impressive $2.5 billion in on-chain revenue. This figure not only surpasses Tron’s $2.1 billion but also Bitcoin’s $923 million, cementing its position as one of the most valuable and sought-after altcoins.
One of the factors that contributed to this success was the drastic reduction in Ethereum fees in March 2024, which dropped by 99%. This reduction culminated in gas fees falling below 1 Gwei in September, facilitating more cost-effective operations for both individual users and Layer 2 and 3 developers such as Polygon and Uniswap.
Despite challenges with fee volatility and the use of the ERC-20 system for payments, there is widespread expectation that these issues will be resolved with Ethereum’s upcoming Pectra upgrade. Experts predict that this upgrade, scheduled for late April 2025, could capture a significant portion of the additional Total Value Locked (TVL), potentially adding an additional $17.5 billion to its ecosystem.
Ethereum’s DeFi ecosystem remains the largest, with over $51 billion in TVL and a significant $126 billion in stablecoin reserves. Ethereum’s ability to support a wide range of blockchains through its Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) further contributes to its robustness and attractiveness to investors and developers.
Additionally, Ethereum remains the preferred platform for stablecoin transactions, with stablecoins like Tether’s USDT contributing a substantial portion of the fees charged on the network. This not only provides a stable revenue stream for Ethereum, but also offers a safe store of value for investors during bear market periods.
Comparatively, while other altcoins like XRP, Cardano, and Chainlink have their merits, none of them pose a direct threat to Ethereum’s dominance in the cryptocurrency space. This is evidenced by the vast number of projects dependent on Ethereum, including over 63 Rollups and several other significant projects that rely on its infrastructure to operate.
These factors solidify Ethereum as a leading choice in the cryptocurrency space, with an influence that continues to grow year after year.