Monolithic Blockchains Outperform In September

According to Cointelegraph, monolithic blockchains, which integrate different layers into a single architecture, showed strong performance in September, as highlighted in VanEck's latest Crypto Monthly Recap. The report noted significant price gains for Solana (SOL), Sui (SUI), and Aptos (APT), with increases of 14%, 118%, and 23%, respectively. Sui's impressive performance was driven by a 140% increase in daily active addresses during September, pushing its market capitalization above $5 billion. VanEck's researchers also pointed to Aptos' recent Raptr software upgrade as a key factor behind the network's 30% month-over-month growth in daily active addresses. Monolithic blockchains, often referred to as 'Ethereum killers,' are noted for their higher throughput compared to modular blockchains due to their more efficient structures. Earlier in 2024, Pantera Capital described Solana as the MacOS of blockchains, emphasizing its vertically integrated protocol. This approach is similar to Apple's strategy of developing both software and hardware in-house. The higher throughput and lower transaction costs of blockchains like Solana and Sui make them attractive for smaller payments, asset tokenization, and minting non-fungible tokens (NFTs). A recent report from Sygnum Bank highlighted Solana's potential as a payment network and its ability to challenge Ethereum's dominance. VanEck's previous report indicated that newer layer-1 competitors are reducing fees and transaction times, which is eroding Ethereum's market share. Researchers noted that market speculation remains the primary use case for public blockchains, and the lower transaction costs of higher throughput layer-1 blockchains are encouraging users to migrate from Ethereum. This migration has contributed to Ethereum's poor price performance throughout much of 2024. Ethereum's price dropped by 12% between Oct. 1 and Oct. 3, and the digital asset has been trading below its 200-day exponential moving average (EMA) since August 2024.