Currently, in terms of market capitalization, Solana and BNB are still strong contenders, with their values being relatively close. However, other public chains, including Ethereum, are still in the process of "climbing" in terms of market value.

Looking back to the last bull market in 2021, the Crypto market saw a surge in applications such as DeFi, NFTs, and GameFi. Ethereum's limitations, such as transaction congestion and high fees, provided an opportunity for new public chains to emerge and challenge its dominance. Chains like Solana, BNB Chain, Polkadot, Avalanche, and Fantom (FTM) all aimed to overthrow Ethereum's throne. These emerging public chains not only competed in consensus mechanisms, transaction speeds, and scaling solutions but also in attracting developers, building communities, and gaining capital favor. This competition is often referred to as the "battle of public chains."

While the advantages among these chains shifted in the short term, this battle has significantly advanced blockchain technology and diversified the entire Crypto ecosystem. It also laid the groundwork for the rise of new public chains like Aptos and Sui. However, four years after the outbreak of this competition, the once-thriving scene seems to have faded. Only Solana has risen from the trough and become another dominant public chain. Despite a 60% gap in market capitalization, the market seems to have higher expectations for Solana.

What about the other public chains? Here is a comparison of the market capitalization and current status of some popular public chains from that time:

Over the past week, CZ has been heavily hinting that BNB Chain will undergo various transformations and innovations in 2025. He has been tweeting about it for several days, even using the naming contest for his pet dog Broccoli to create a small surge in interest. This seems to be a move to challenge Solana's glory from the past year.

Of course, besides these established public chains, emerging ones like Sui and Bera are also striving to catch up. However, it seems that the market's expectations for public chains have shifted from just faster and better performance to whether they can offer truly usable products. This path is full of challenges. Without the recent MEME coin craze, it's hard to say how Solana would have fared.

Once we talk about products, no public chain currently has a truly dominant application. Creating innovative products that meet market demand (Product-Market Fit, PMF) and are widely embraced is still a challenge. Besides stablecoins and a few DeFi applications, other directions are still lacking in innovation. Even the once-hot Agent applications have fallen into a new "death spiral".

Looking at the present, for public chain operators, the competition has shifted from marketing and rewards to the actual refinement of products. We can say that MEME is a form of product, but relying solely on MEMEs is not a long-term strategy. Eventually, the focus will return to the users (community) and the products themselves.

So, looking back at the public chain battle in 2021, we may never return to that summer. What we can hope for is a scene similar to the "hundred group battle" in the early days of the internet, where the competition will ultimately come down to users, operations, and real-world applications. After all, Layer 2 solutions can also be considered a form of public chain, and the competition may be even greater than we anticipated.

From an investment perspective, some of the logic for choosing public chains still applies. For example, if Solana focuses on MEMEs, other chains can do the same. If SUI focuses on gaming, other chains can also participate. The market is still large enough, and wherever there is a wealth effect, there will be users. This, in turn, increases the chances of creating products with real-world applications. After all, the market believes in the logic of price before product, and this trend is not likely to change anytime soon.

Currently, in terms of market capitalization, Solana and BNB are still strong contenders, with their values being relatively close. However, other public chains, including Ethereum, are still in the process of "climbing" in terms of market value.

Looking back to the last bull market in 2021, the Crypto market saw a surge in applications such as DeFi, NFTs, and GameFi. Ethereum's limitations, such as transaction congestion and high fees, provided an opportunity for new public chains to emerge and challenge its dominance. Chains like Solana, BNB Chain, Polkadot, Avalanche, and Fantom (FTM) all aimed to overthrow Ethereum's throne. These emerging public chains not only competed in consensus mechanisms, transaction speeds, and scaling solutions but also in attracting developers, building communities, and gaining capital favor. This competition is often referred to as the "battle of public chains."

While the advantages among these chains shifted in the short term, this battle has significantly advanced blockchain technology and diversified the entire Crypto ecosystem. It also laid the groundwork for the rise of new public chains like Aptos and Sui. However, four years after the outbreak of this competition, the once-thriving scene seems to have faded. Only Solana has risen from the trough and become another dominant public chain. Despite a 60% gap in market capitalization, the market seems to have higher expectations for Solana.

What about the other public chains? Here is a comparison of the market capitalization and current status of some popular public chains from that time:

Over the past week, CZ has been heavily hinting that BNB Chain will undergo various transformations and innovations in 2025. He has been tweeting about it for several days, even using the naming contest for his pet dog Broccoli to create a small surge in interest. This seems to be a move to challenge Solana's glory from the past year.

Of course, besides these established public chains, emerging ones like Sui and Bera are also striving to catch up. However, it seems that the market's expectations for public chains have shifted from just faster and better performance to whether they can offer truly usable products. This path is full of challenges. Without the recent MEME coin craze, it's hard to say how Solana would have fared.

Once we talk about products, no public chain currently has a truly dominant application. Creating innovative products that meet market demand (Product-Market Fit, PMF) and are widely embraced is still a challenge. Besides stablecoins and a few DeFi applications, other directions are still lacking in innovation. Even the once-hot Agent applications have fallen into a new "death spiral".

Looking at the present, for public chain operators, the competition has shifted from marketing and rewards to the actual refinement of products. We can say that MEME is a form of product, but relying solely on MEMEs is not a long-term strategy. Eventually, the focus will return to the users (community) and the products themselves.

So, looking back at the public chain battle in 2021, we may never return to that summer. What we can hope for is a scene similar to the "hundred group battle" in the early days of the internet, where the competition will ultimately come down to users, operations, and real-world applications. After all, Layer 2 solutions can also be considered a form of public chain, and the competition may be even greater than we anticipated.

From an investment perspective, some of the logic for choosing public chains still applies. For example, if Solana focuses on MEMEs, other chains can do the same. If SUI focuses on gaming, other chains can also participate. The market is still large enough, and wherever there is a wealth effect, there will be users. This, in turn, increases the chances of creating products with real-world applications. After all, the market believes in the logic of price before product, and this trend is not likely to change anytime soon.