Q1 2023 Market Performance
• Average 83% market cap increase in Layer-1 (L1) smart contract platforms, despite a 2.5% decrease in network usage.
• Stacks emerged as a top performer, driven by renewed interest in Bitcoin programmability.
• Tether (USDT) has taken the center stage due to USDC depeg and halt of BUSD issuance by Paxos.
Revenue
Ethereum generated the highest revenue of $457M in Q1 2023, almost 2.8 times higher than the combined revenue of all other featured L1s. Hedera had the most significant revenue growth, up 489% quarter-on-quarter (QoQ), driven by its Consensus Service.
Stablecoin Market
The shifting landscape of stablecoins led to an increased dominance of Tether (USDT), benefiting networks like TRON. Owing to USDC’s temporary depeg and the cessation of Binance USD (BUSD) issuance by Paxos, USDT has now taken the center stage resulting in a 30% boost in TRON’s stablecoin market cap.
Staked Tokens
Every network experienced a quarter-on-quarter increase in staked tokens during Q1, with Stacks (403%) and Solana (125%) taking the lead; their respective market cap growth was outpaced by net uptick in staked native tokens.
Validator Count
A crucial aspect of blockchain ecosystems is validator count which varies across networks; Ethereum, Avalanche, Cardano, Polkadot and Harmony employ some form stake-weight limit or delegated proof-of-stake consensus mechanisms to regulate this factor.