Why there are hundreds of blockchains
Every chain makes a tradeoff between decentralization, security and speed. You cannot maximize all three, so each project picks two and lives with the third. Layers are the industry answer to that constraint.
Base settlement chains
A layer 1 secures itself with its own validators and settles its own transactions. Bitcoin, Ethereum and Solana are all layer 1s. They differ mostly in what they chose to sacrifice.
See all layer 1 networksLayer 2Cheaper, faster, still secured
A layer 2 processes transactions off the base chain and posts results back, so you get a fraction of a cent fees while inheriting most of the security underneath.
See all layer 2 networksLayer 3One chain per application
A layer 3 settles to a layer 2 rather than a layer 1. Games and specific apps get their own block space so they never compete for capacity.
See all layer 3 networksPick two, seriously
This is not a marketing framing. It is a genuine engineering constraint, and understanding it explains every design decision you will see.
- Decentralization. How many independent parties run the network, and how easily anyone can join them.
- Security. How expensive it is to attack, and how much it would cost the attacker to fail.
- Scalability. How many transactions it can process, and how cheaply.
Bitcoin maximizes decentralization and security, and processes about seven transactions per second. Solana maximizes speed and security, and requires expensive hardware that limits who can validate. BNB Chain maximizes speed and cost, with a small validator set.
Layer 2s sidestep the trilemma rather than solving it. They borrow security from a layer 1 and add speed on top, which is why almost all new activity has moved there.
For long term holding
Bitcoin and Ethereum. The most decentralized, the most battle tested, the least likely to surprise you.
For actually doing things
Base, Arbitrum or Solana. Fees low enough that you stop thinking about them.
The ten largest layer 1 networks
Prices load live in your browser when the page opens. Market cap is far more useful than price for comparison.
| Network | Ticker | Price | 24h | Market cap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Bitcoin | BTC | $83,123 | -0.36% | $1.67T |
 Ethereum | ETH | $2,665.93 | +0.53% | $325.48B |
 Solana | SOL | $117.79 | -1.88% | $69.24B |
 BNB Chain | BNB | $758.83 | -1.53% | $101.04B |
 XRP Ledger | XRP | $1.49 | -0.37% | $93.67B |
 Cardano | ADA | $0.2431 | -3.66% | $9.12B |
 Avalanche | AVAX | $10.44 | -3.08% | $4.90B |
 TRON | TRX | $0.3342 | +0.16% | $31.74B |
 Polkadot | DOT | $1.16 | -6.27% | $1.97B |
 Cosmos Hub | ATOM | $1.71 | -6.47% | $909.27M |
Prices as of September 29, 2026, replaced by live figures as the page loads. For orientation, not advice.
Which network should you actually use?
| Your situation | Use | Why |
|---|---|---|
| You want to hold long term with minimum complexity | Bitcoin | Fifteen years of uninterrupted operation, the widest support, the simplest design |
| You want to use DeFi and onchain apps | Base or Arbitrum | Ethereum security with fees measured in fractions of a cent |
| You want speed and very low cost | Solana | Sub second confirmation and fees that round to zero |
| You are coming from a US exchange | Base | Direct withdrawal from Coinbase with no bridging required |
| You care most about privacy | Monero | Amounts and parties hidden by default, not as an option |
| You want maximum ecosystem depth | Ethereum | Everything gets built here first, and the tooling reflects that |
Not sure which chain to start on?
It is genuinely the most common question we get, and the answer depends on what you want to do rather than which chain is best. Twenty minutes on a call usually settles it.