A new research report from a16z sheds light on how the crypto industry has changed over the course of two years. Amid infrastructure improvements and increased user activity, the asset class has also become a key political issue ahead of the U.S. election.
In the 2024 State of Crypto report, a16z found that crypto activity and usage hit all-time highs, with growth reminiscent of early internet adoption.
“In September, 220 million addresses interacted with a blockchain at least once, a figure that has more than tripled since the end of 2023,” stated the report.
They found that the explosion of activity was primarily driven by Solana — the blockchain accounted for more than 100 million of the total active addresses in September.
Blockchains like NEAR and Base were also popular avenues for crypto users, with 31 million and 22 million active addresses, respectively. Meanwhile, older layer 1 blockchains like Tron and Bitcoin saw 14 million and 11 million active addresses, respectively, while Ethereum accounted for 6 million active addresses.
“The blockchain that saw the biggest change in total share of builder interest is Solana. Specifically, the total share of founders who told us they either are, or are interested in, building on Solana grew to 11.2% this year from 5.1% last year,” said the 16z researchers.
The report also noted that interest in crypto is rising in swing states like Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, which have seen the fourth and fifth biggest jumps in crypto search interest since the last election.
“Crypto has become a key political issue ahead of the U.S. election,” said 16z.
