31 Aug 2021
A solid month for layer 1 tokens
Several layer 1 platforms have seen extreme returns in August, with four layer 1 platforms pushing monthly returns above 200%.
August has been a strong month for the so-called “Ethereum killers”, with the native tokens of Solana, Terra, Fantom, and Avalanche all seeing gains above 200% this month.
Solana is the most striking performer this month, given its already sizeable market cap. SOL is now the eighth largest cryptocurrency measured by market cap and has seen its market cap grow from $9.5 billion to $35 billion this month. Solana’s claim to fame is the very high throughput of the protocol. Solana can process 50,000 transactions per second, making it an attractive venue for DeFi applications.
ETH has experienced growing transaction fees amid the NFT frenzy, possibly attracting more users to other chains. However, in the DeFi ecosystem overall, Ethereum remains the clear leader, and it seems unlikely that any other protocol will dethrone Ethereum’s position in the near future.