In-Depth Analysis: Sustainability of Revenue for the Three Major Public Chains: Ethereum, Solana, and TRON

Introduction

In the current rapid development of blockchain technology, the revenue sustainability of public chains has become a key indicator for assessing their long-term development potential. This article will focus on the three major mainstream public chains in the current market—Ethereum, Solana, and TRON—by analyzing their Gas fee revenue composition, on-chain economic activities, and user income and expenditure situations, to explore the revenue models of these public chains and their sustainability in depth.

According to the latest data, over the past 30 days, Ethereum has led with a total of $99.89 million in Gas fees, followed by Solana and TRON with $46.21 million and $38.97 million in Gas fees, respectively. However, this income advantage does not fully reflect in market popularity and user activity. Notably, Solana has surpassed Ethereum in discussion popularity over the past six months, while TRON has gained widespread recognition in the payment sector.

What is even more striking is that the daily active address data shows a completely different pattern compared to Gas fee revenue: TRON ranks first with 2.1 million daily active addresses, followed closely by Solana with 1.1 million, while Ethereum has only 316,000. This phenomenon highlights the complex relationship between the composition of Gas fee revenue, on-chain economic activities, and the sustainability of user income and expenditure, providing a unique perspective for our in-depth analysis of the revenue sustainability of these three major public chains.

Ethereum

Gas fee income composition

Ethereum has undergone a series of significant upgrades, including the transition from PoW to PoS and the implementation of the EIP-1559 proposal, which has had a profound impact on its gas fee structure. The new gas fee structure is divided into two parts: a base fee that is automatically burned by the system and a tip that is paid directly to validators. The burning mechanism of the base fee is expected to push ETH into a deflationary state, potentially increasing its value. At the same time, the dynamically adjusted base fee helps optimize the allocation of network resources, while the tip provides additional incentives for validators to maintain network security.

Ethereum has burned approximately $47 million worth of ETH through its base fee mechanism in the last 30 days. This data not only reflects the level of activity on the network but also provides important insights for analyzing the contribution of various on-chain activities to total Gas consumption.

The gas fee consumption distribution of the Ethereum network is as follows:

• DeFi: 60%
• Ether transfer: 12%
• MEV: 8%
• NFT: 8%
• Layer 2 Solutions: 6%
• Smart Contract Creation: 2%

This distribution reflects the diversification and vitality of the Ethereum ecosystem, dominated by DeFi, supplemented by ETH transfers, MEV, and multiple areas such as NFTs, laying a solid foundation for network value growth.

on-chain economic activities

DeFi

DeFi, as a core component of the Ethereum ecosystem, encompasses a diverse range of sub-sectors, including DEX, lending platforms, DEX trading bots, stablecoins, derivatives, crypto wallets, and liquid staking derivatives.

• Uniswap: As the largest DEX, it generated $54.23 million in revenue in the past 30 days, contributing $8.15 million in burned Gas fees, accounting for about 17.3% of the Ethereum ecosystem. The trading pairs with the highest trading volume are mainly composed of ETH and stablecoins, reflecting a healthy trading ecosystem.

• 1inch: As a leading DEX aggregator, it contributed approximately $1.21 million in Gas fees, accounting for 3% of the total.

The entire DEX track accounts for more than 40% in the DeFi sector and over 25% in the Ethereum ecosystem, highlighting its status as the most active track.

Stablecoin Transfer

Stablecoin transfers rank second only to DEX in the Ethereum ecosystem, with a total Gas fee burned of 4.01 million USD in the past month, accounting for approximately 8.5% of the total Gas fees burned during the same period. This data reflects the strong demand and activity for funds on-chain.

Dex Trading Bot

The rise of the Dex Trading Bot sector is attributed to the popularity of Meme coins, primarily aimed at facilitating users to purchase Meme coins. This sector ranks third in terms of Gas fee contributions, only behind Uniswap and Ethereum/stablecoin transfers. The leading projects, Banana Gun and Maestro, contributed $1.73 million and $1.51 million in Gas fees, respectively, accounting for a total of 6.9% of the total Gas fees in the Ethereum ecosystem.

Cryptocurrency Wallet

MetaMask, as the most widely used on-chain wallet project currently, has contributed $2.91 million in Gas fees over the past 30 days, accounting for about 2% of the total Gas fees on the Ethereum blockchain.

On-chain transfer

In the past month, transfers on the Ethereum chain have burned $3.83 million in Gas fees, contributing an estimated total of about $25.5 million in Gas fees, accounting for approximately 12% of the total Gas fees in the Ethereum ecosystem.

MEV

The burning fee of MEV on the Ethereum chain is approximately $3.76 million, accounting for 8% of the total burning fee on the chain, reflecting that meme coin projects do not dominate the Ethereum ecosystem.

Ethereum ecosystem summary

The Ethereum ecosystem shows a diversified yet concentrated development trend in several major areas. The DeFi sector leads with a 60% share of Gas fees, followed closely by ETH transfers, MEV, and NFTs. The sub-sector with the highest on-chain Gas fees is DEX (26%), followed by on-chain transfers and stablecoins (17%), Dex Trading Bots (7%), and the wallet sector (3%), totaling a 53% share. This dispersed distribution of Gas fees reflects the relatively balanced development of various sectors in Ethereum, demonstrating the overall health of the ecosystem.

Solana

Transaction Fee Composition

The fees and costs on the Solana chain can be divided into three parts: transaction fees, priority fees, and rent. The chain stipulates that a fixed percentage of the transaction fee for each transaction is burned, while the remainder goes to the validators. Solana stakers have earned transaction fee rewards worth $23.1 million in the last 30 days.

On-chain economic activities

DEX

The DEX activities on the Solana chain dominate with an absolute share of 86%. Among them, Raydium and Orca account for 70%.

• Raydium: Generated $5,237,000 in trading fees in the last 30 days, with revenue primarily coming from Meme coin trading pairs.
• Orca: Generated $12.25 million in trading fees in the last 30 days, with over 50% of the revenue coming from Meme coin trading pairs.

In the entire Solana ecosystem, the estimated Gas fees contributed by Meme coin trading exceed 55%.

MEV

The MEV mechanism on the Solana chain has become one of the main features of on-chain transactions due to the surge in demand for Meme coin trading. In the past 30 days, transactions with priority fees accounted for 82.45% of the total transaction volume, with MEV fees making up as much as 80% of the transaction fees. Specific data shows that Solana's fee revenue in the past 30 days was $46.21 million, with MEV fees exceeding $30 million.

Dex Trading Bot

The top three Dex Trading Bot projects (Photon, Bonkbot, and Trojan) account for over 90% of the trading share on this chain, with a total revenue of approximately $33.67 million in the last 30 days.

Solana ecosystem summary

The current ecology of Solana, driven by meme coins, has significant sustainability risks. Fixed player losses exceeding $100 million per month, annualized to $1.3 billion, highlight the unsustainability of the current model. The Solana ecosystem faces severe challenges and needs to seek a more balanced and sustainable development path.

TRON

The TRON blockchain has a unique design, where on-chain transaction fees are primarily used to compensate for network energy and bandwidth consumption, rather than for node bribery. Since October 29, 2021, the circulation of TRX has shown a continuous deflationary trend, mainly due to the widespread use of USDT on the TRON network and the significant increase in its trading volume.

USDT transfers account for 94.51% of on-chain activity on the TRON network, highlighting its absolute dominance in the TRON ecosystem. The design advantages of TRON, including low fixed transfer fees, fast block times, and the absence of additional priority fees, give it a significant competitive edge in the on-chain payment sector.

In August 2024, TRON founder Justin Sun announced his entry into the Meme sector, rapidly attracting a large number of Meme projects. As of August 20, the proportion of USDT transfers decreased to 52%, while DEX activity surged to 47%. Nevertheless, the actual energy consumption of USDT transfers remained stable, maintained within the 80B-90B range, highlighting its position as a cornerstone of the TRON ecosystem.

Summary

This article analyzes in depth the revenue composition and sustainability of the three major public chains: Ethereum, Solana, and TRON, and arrives at the following key conclusions:

Ethereum: Demonstrating the most balanced and sustainable development model

• Diversified income sources: Balanced development across multiple fields such as DeFi, Ether transfers, MEV, and NFTs.
• Ecosystem Health: A reasonable proportion of core applications reflects genuine and sustained user demand.
• Innovation and Upgrade: Continuous technological upgrades optimize the charging mechanism, laying the foundation for long-term development.
• Long-term potential: Diverse application scenarios and continuous technological innovation provide strong long-term development momentum.

Solana: Rapid growth but facing sustainability challenges

• Income is highly concentrated: DEX activities account for 86%, with Meme coin trading contributing over 55% of the Gas fees.
• MEV is commonly used: 82.45% of transactions use MEV, reflecting a highly speculative environment.
• High user costs: Meme coin players are estimated to lose $110 million per month, totaling $1.3 billion annually.
• Sustainability risk: Over-reliance on the trading model of Meme coins is difficult to maintain in the long term and requires strategic adjustments.

TRON: Focused on the payment sector, showcasing unique advantages

• Stablecoin dominance: USDT transfers account for 94.51% of on-chain activity, reflecting its strong position in the payment sector.
• Technical advantages are obvious: low fees, fast confirmation, and a fixed fee model are suitable for large-scale payment applications.
• Structural resilience: even during the Meme coin craze, the core USDT transfer business remains stable.
• Long-term sustainability: Stablecoin transfers based on rigid demand provide TRON with a reliable long-term source of income.

Comprehensive Assessment

Ethereum demonstrates the strongest long-term sustainability due to its diversified ecosystem and continuous technological innovation. Solana, despite its rapid growth, faces significant risks due to its excessive reliance on Meme coin trading models and needs a strategic transformation to ensure long-term development. TRON has established a unique market position and sustainable revenue model by focusing on the payment sector, particularly stablecoin transfers.

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