Tezos Sees Rising Revenue but Declining Activity as Users Shift to Layer 2

Tezos Layer 1 saw a 30.4% quarter-over-quarter (QoQ) rise in transaction fee revenue, reaching 11,100 XTZ in Q4 2024. Meanwhile, Etherlink, Tezos’ first EVM-compatible smart roll-up, grew even faster, with a 44% quarterly increase, hitting 6,669 XTZ.

Despite this, the overall network activity on Tezos dropped by 5% during the same period, with monthly transactions and contract calls averaging 3.2 million.

According to Messari’s latest report, this decline is consistent with the ongoing shift toward Layer 2 solutions like Etherlink, which offers faster, lower-cost transactions to support Tezos’ scaling strategy. While total transactions were less, the daily active addresses (DAA), however, rose by 37% from the previous quarter, averaging 1,800 unique addresses per day.

This increase in unique wallets suggests that while transaction volume decreased, the network’s user base continues to grow, reflecting a broader adoption trend.

Web 3 And NFT on Tezos

Q4 2024 saw a major boost in Web3 gaming and NFT activity on Tezos, driven by Etherlink, an EVM Layer 2 offering fast transaction finality and low fees. The gaming sector thrived with key integrations, such as Rarible’s launch of the BattleRise Founder Pass, the first gaming NFT on Etherlink.

This pass granted in-game perks, staking rewards, and rental opportunities. Sugarverse further expanded the gaming scene with Sugar Match, a match-3 puzzle game featuring tradable NFTs.

Additionally, Etherlink saw successful NFT drops like MDCL and Chapter 00, both selling out quickly. Etherlink’s gaming-friendly infrastructure enables developers to deploy Ethereum-based smart contracts seamlessly on Tezos. With high throughput and cost efficiency, the ecosystem continues to attract new projects.

Currently, over 100 projects are developing on Etherlink, solidifying its position as a prime destination for Web3 gaming, NFT marketplaces, and blockchain-powered digital experiences.

DeFi on Tezos Expands

The total value locked (TVL) in USD rose by 6% QoQ in Q4 2024, closing at $53 million. However, this growth stemmed from XTZ’s rising price, as TVL in XTZ terms actually fell by 37% compared to last quarter. At the same time, Etherlink’s TVL surged past $1.5 million, nearly doubling from Q3 levels. This suggests that liquidity is migrating from Tezos to Etherlink amidst a growing adoption of Layer 2 solutions.

Youves, a decentralized synthetic assets application, topped in terms of TVL among Tezos protocols and holds over $32 million, which marked a 28% growth from Q3. Sirius, an XTZ/tzBTC liquidity-baking protocol, ranked second with $9.8 million, followed by Kord.Fi, another liquidity-baking platform, with $5.91 million in TVL.