Why is blockchain dying? What are the challenges to blockchain adoption?

Source: Cointelegraph; Compiled by: Deng Tong, Golden Finance

1. Why some blockchains die

Blockchains may die due to flaws in token economics, fraud, security issues, or lack of community and development momentum. Without active participation, even cutting-edge technology will gather dust.

Have you heard of a blockchain that no one uses? This situation is more common than you think. Although the cryptocurrency field is full of innovation, not every blockchain can find its own "tribe". Some blockchains are like ghost towns, with zero transaction volume, few developers, and only a few holders holding worthless tokens. So, what makes blockchains silent? Can they be reborn?

Not all blockchains are built to last. Some, such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana, have proven their resilience by surviving harsh market conditions. However, Terra fell from top status to near oblivion in 2022 after the collapse of its algorithmic stablecoin.

Even well-intentioned projects can fail. Without continued development, user incentives, or a strong community, a blockchain can become unusable. Once validators stop running nodes, the network effectively becomes a shattered time capsule.

2. Challenges of blockchain adoption in 2025

Although some blockchains such as Ethereum and Solana are paving the way for the popularization of blockchain, the popularization of blockchain in 2025 still faces many obstacles, such as unclear regulation, fragmented development tools, infrastructure gaps, and difficulty in attracting real users rather than robots.

Regulatory uncertainty is one of the biggest obstacles.Governments are still groping for how to regulate cryptocurrencies, and inconsistent or overly strict rules may stifle innovation and prevent it from taking root. In addition to policies, there is also a thriving developer ecosystem.Switching between languages ​​such as Solidity, Rust, and Move-based systems requires flexibility, and not every blockchain can attract the talent needed for development.

There’s also the user problem—blockchains are filled with bots chasing airdrops rather than real users engaging with the technology. Without real user activity, the network’s active metrics are just illusions.

Infrastructure is another major hurdle. A robust blockchain requires powerful tooling, a high-quality remote procedure call (RPC) service, and a set of decentralized validators that ensure uptime and security. In the blockchain space, an RPC service refers to a mechanism that allows an application (such as a wallet, DApp, or developer tool) to communicate remotely with a blockchain network.

Beyond that, a thriving blockchain must rally a strong community of users, developers, and commentators who genuinely believe in the blockchain’s ability to succeed in the long term.

Dealing reliably with fear, uncertainty, and doubt (FUD) is another test, especially when negative narratives emerge; how a blockchain ecosystem responds can make or break trust. It’s a delicate balance to maintain user loyalty while also keeping things fresh.

Ethereum has mastered this through multiple market cycles, retaining its core developer and user base while growing. Since the FTX crash in 2022, Solana has demonstrated resilience, overcoming reputational damage, rebuilding its ecosystem, attracting developers, and driving real-world usage through increased speed, efficiency, and community support.

Which blockchains are still active in 2025?

As of April 2025, active blockchains such as Ethereum, Solana, Bitcoin, BNB Chain, Polkadot, Near, Sui, and Tron stand out, each excelling in a different area - DApps, speed, store of value, affordability, interoperability, or scalability.

Active blockchains show daily user engagement, developer momentum, and sustained transaction volume, while inactive blockchains are relegated to the digital graveyard.

Not all blockchains are dead, but not all are thriving either. Here are insights from the prominent survivors shaping the cryptocurrency landscape as of April 2025:

• Bitcoin: Bitcoin focuses on store of value, with a market cap of $1.636 trillion and steady transaction volume as of April 6, 2025. The 2024 Bitcoin halving and the approval of exchange-traded funds (ETFs) keep it relevant. Despite limited smart contract functionality, there are still about 960 developers working on scalability development such as the Lightning Network.

• Ethereum:It powers decentralized finance (DeFi), non-fungible tokens (NFTs), and DApps, and processes millions of transactions per day through second-layer protocols such as Arbitrum as of April 2025. It has more than 5,900 monthly active developers as of June 2023. High total locked value (TVL) persists, but gas fees will be a challenge due to the absence of second-layer protocols.

• Solana: According to DefiLlama, Solana has 3.68 million daily active addresses as of April 8, 2025. Its fast transaction speeds and low fees are likely to be the main drivers of its growth. After the FTX price crash in 2022, it gradually recovered and began supporting gaming and DeFi. As of June 2023, it has over 1,400 developers, but past outages are a concern. In addition, Trump token TRUMP plummeted in March 2025, falling more than 85% from its January peak, also weakening Solana's momentum.

• BNB Chain:Binance's BNB Chain has 1.93 million daily users as of April 1, 2025 and trades at reasonable prices. It exhibits significant total locked value (TVL) and transaction volume, mainly concentrated in the DeFi and gaming sectors, although its centralized nature is controversial.

• Polkadot:Polkadot connects blockchains and has over 1,900 developers working on interoperability development as of June 2023. It supports multiple parachains and has moderate and growing activity as of April 2025, but is not easy for the average user to get started.

• Near Protocol:Near has 3.18 million daily addresses as of April 1, 2025, and uses sharding for scalability. It supports DeFi and gaming, and has developer tools to help it grow, but is still proving itself against the larger public chains.

• Sui:Sui has 2.46 million daily users as of April 1, 2025, and uses an object-oriented model for speed. Sui is active in DeFi and gaming, but is newer and lacks the ecosystem depth of older networks.

• Tron: As of April 1, 2025, Tron has 2.45 million daily addresses and focuses on stablecoin transfers like Tether and USDt. It has high throughput, but a limited variety of DApps compared to other networks.

In contrast to the above blockchains are inactive blockchains like EOS and Terra, which are subject to governance or collapse.

The success of a blockchain, therefore, depends on its daily activity. How many people are actually transacting on the blockchain every day? Are developers still building new DApps? Is the transaction volume meaningful? If the answer to these questions is "not much", then the chain may be heading for a digital grave.

Fourth, blockchains are fading: what went wrong?

Blockchains like EOS and Terra tell us that hype alone is not enough. Blockchains need real utility, trust, and continued innovation to survive.

Cases like EOS and Terra show that initial excitement is not enough to sustain a blockchain’s long-term survival. Long-term survival appears to be tied to utility, trust, and continued development, not just hype.

Some blockchains started out with great potential but struggled to maintain traction. EOS, once dubbed the “Ethereum killer,” raised $4 billion in its 2017 initial coin offering (ICO). By 2025, it had minimal usage, hampered by governance challenges and low adoption.

Terra and its LUNA token suffered an even more dramatic fall in 2022 when its algorithmic stablecoin collapsed, wiping billions of dollars off its market cap.

These examples show that hype alone does not ensure staying power - blockchains appear to need real use cases, solid security, and active development.

Community often marks the durability and decline of a blockchain. Ethereum has experienced multiple downturns, supported by a large developer community and active users. DApps built by developers attract users, forming a growth cycle. Validators and stakers enhance trust and improve liquidity. Without these participants, even technologically advanced blockchains will find it difficult to remain competitive.

V. How to Identify Active Blockchains

Indicators such as transaction volume, total locked value (TVL), developer activity, and the number of validators are important indicators of whether a blockchain is active and trustworthy.

How to judge whether a blockchain is healthy? Transaction speed and transaction volume are the main indicators. A strong and active blockchain has stable transactions, while low activity is a red flag. Total value locked (TVL) is another key metric because if DeFi users trust a chain, they will lock funds into its protocol. A falling TVL indicates that users are leaving.

Developer activity is also critical.Are new projects launching? Is there ongoing development? A stagnant developer ecosystem often indicates problems. The number of validators and nodes is also important.A large number of validators indicates decentralization and network security. Finally, liquidity and on-chain economics also play an important role. If liquidity dries up, the future of the blockchain will also be at stake.

If developers and founding teams cannot expand on their original foundation, they will migrate across blockchains. This comes at a cost, usually requiring the reconstruction of skills and user base. But multiple projects migrating from one chain may indicate a bearish trend for that chain, and vice versa.

For example, on April 3, 2025, the game project Infecteddotfun announced that it would migrate from Base to Solana due to expansion difficulties. The project's popular speculative simulation game attracted 130,000 registered users in 48 hours, causing a surge in transaction demand on Base, causing gas prices to soar and the game to be interrupted. The team pointed out the limitations of the Ethereum virtual machine chain and preferred Solana's user-centric culture and strong user base.

Six, what makes blockchain reborn?

So, can a dead blockchain be revived? Sometimes not. The key is to find reasons for people to return. A new use case can reignite interest, especially if it solves a real problem. A protocol upgrade that improves scalability, fees, or interoperability can also reignite enthusiasm.

Strong incentives, such as grants, airdrops, or liquidity rewards, can attract developers and users back to the network. In some cases, struggling projects turn to layer-2 solutions or merge with more active ecosystems to stay relevant.

But most importantly, a thriving community that believes in the future of a blockchain can lead its recovery from trouble. Solana’s rise from the FTX debacle with its steadfast community spirit is a case study worth learning from.

The blockchain world is changing rapidly. Some networks thrive, while others fade into obscurity. The ones that remain are those with strong community support, utility, and continued innovation. If a blockchain is dead today, it doesn’t mean it’s gone for good, but it will take more than wishful thinking to revive it.