Key Takeaways
- Onchain revenue, measured by user-paid fees, is projected to reach $19.8 billion in 2025, indicating growing industry maturity and adoption.
- Total onchain fees have shown remarkable growth, increasing over tenfold since 2020, with a compound annual growth rate of approximately 60%.
- This expansion highlights a shift in cryptocurrencies from speculative assets to revenue-generating tools with tangible network effects.
- The rise of tokenized real-world assets (RWAs) is a significant driver, with their onchain value and associated fees experiencing rapid growth.
- Major financial institutions are increasingly investing in asset tokenization, signaling broader institutional acceptance of the technology.
The Blockchain Ecosystem Shows Signs of Maturing
The blockchain industry appears to be entering a new phase of maturity, a development evidenced by a key metric that often goes overlooked. This growth points towards increasing adoption across various sectors, including decentralized finance, consumer applications, and other emerging markets.
Data from a recent Onchain Revenue Report by venture capital firm 1kx suggests that onchain revenue, specifically defined as fees paid by users, is on track to hit $19.8 billion by 2025. This figure follows a record-breaking $9.7 billion generated in the first half of the current year alone.
These fees represent the aggregate amount that users spend to conduct transactions directly on blockchain networks and their associated infrastructure. This includes activities such as trading, swapping assets, digital registrations, revenue from blockchain-based games, and subscription services.
While the full-year estimate for 2025 is not expected to surpass the all-time high of $24.1 billion recorded in 2021, the overall trend in onchain fees is exceptionally strong. The total onchain fees have seen a more than tenfold increase since 2020, demonstrating a compound annual growth rate of approximately 60%.
Onchain Fees as a Key Indicator of Utility
The authors of the 1kx report emphasize the significance of user-paid fees. “We view fees paid as the best indicator, reflecting repeatable utility that users and firms are willing to pay for,” they stated.
They further commented on the future landscape: “As protocols mature and regulation improves, the ability to generate and distribute consistent fee revenue will separate durable networks from early-stage experiments.”
Beyond signaling financial health, the increase in onchain fees provides valuable insights into the broader adoption of blockchain technology. This is particularly evident in the growth of emerging sectors such as real-world asset tokenization, Decentralized Physical Infrastructure Networks (DePINs), and wallet-centric consumer applications.
The 1kx report posits that this growth signifies a fundamental shift in the cryptocurrency landscape. Cryptocurrencies are transitioning from being primarily speculative instruments to becoming a legitimate, revenue-generating asset class that benefits from tangible network effects.
Tokenized Assets Are Gaining Momentum
The report specifically called out the swift ascent of tokenized Real-World Assets (RWAs). The onchain value of these assets, excluding stablecoins, surged past $28 billion by the third quarter of 2025 and has since exceeded $35 billion, according to data from RWA.xyz.
According to 1kx, the total value of tokenized assets onchain has more than doubled over the past year. Even more notably, the fees generated by these assets have grown at an even faster rate, a clear indication of increasing user engagement and market acceptance.
Major financial institutions, including JPMorgan, BlackRock, and BNY Mellon, are actively investing in asset tokenization. JPMorgan, for instance, has tokenized one of its private equity funds utilizing its private Kinexys blockchain. Concurrently, BNY Mellon has partnered with the RWA platform Securitize to bring collateralized loan obligations onto the blockchain.
Expert Summary
The blockchain industry is experiencing a significant growth phase, evidenced by a substantial increase in onchain revenue generated from user-paid fees. This trend, driven by increasing utility and adoption across diverse sectors like DeFi and RWA tokenization, suggests a maturing market where blockchain technology is proving its value beyond speculative purposes.