Best Layer 1 Protocols

Compare the Top Layer 1 Protocols as of June 2025

What are Layer 1 Protocols?

Layer 1 protocols, also known as layer 1 blockchains, are blockchain protocols that are built as the base layer of a blockchain. A layer 1 protocol serves as the underlying base blockchain of a blockchain network, as opposed to a layer 2 protocol which is designed to improve the scaling problems and transaction speeds and fees that layer 1 blockchain networks and protocols face. Decentralized applications and cryptocurrencies can be built on Layer 1 protocols, and layer 1 protocols interact with layer 2 protocols in order to improve efficiency and overall user experience. Compare and read user reviews of the best Layer 1 Protocols currently available using the table below. This list is updated regularly.

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    Hive

    Hive

    Hive

    Hive has a thriving ecosystem of over 126 apps, communities & projects and is home to some of the most-used Web3 apps in the world, such as Splinterlands, PeakD and HiveBlog. Wallets are incredibly important to securely store your cryptocurrencies and to interact with Web3 apps. Hive has multiple community-owned and open-source wallets available for Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android & Web. The development of Hive and its ecosystem is made possible by contributors. To incentivize crucial work, such as Core Development, a DAO-like structure: the Decentralized Hive Fund (DHF), is being leveraged to intelligently fund important work.
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    Starting Price: Free
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    Polkadot

    Polkadot

    Polkadot

    Polkadot is a blockchain network being built to enable Web 3.0, a decentralized and fair internet where users control their own data and markets prosper from network efficiency and security. Polkadot was founded in 2016 by Gavin Wood, former Co-Founder and CTO of Ethereum. Polkadot’s technology addresses the major issues that have stymied blockchain adoption in recent years. Polkadot’s software development toolkit, Substrate, created by Parity Technologies, makes it easy for blockchain developers to build their own custom, fit-for-use blockchains. Polkadot also enables multiple blockchains to communicate between each other, allows for easy upgradeability, and introduces “shared security”, a plug-and-play network security model that allows developers to focus on the technology and avoid spending time and resources recruiting a set of operators to run a new blockchain.
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    BNB Smart Chain (BSC)

    BNB Smart Chain (BSC)

    BNB Chain (Binance)

    BNB Smart Chain (BSC) is a blockchain platform developed by Binance, designed to enable decentralized applications (dApps) and smart contracts. It operates as a parallel chain to Binance Chain, combining high-speed transactions with the programmability of Ethereum-compatible smart contracts. BSC uses a Proof-of-Staked-Authority (PoSA) consensus mechanism, which enhances scalability and efficiency while reducing transaction costs. It is compatible with the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM), allowing developers to easily port dApps and projects from Ethereum. BSC has become a popular choice for decentralized finance (DeFi), gaming, and NFT ecosystems, offering users a fast, low-cost, and secure platform for blockchain-based innovations.
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    ThunderCore

    ThunderCore

    ThunderCore

    ThunderCore combines high performance with decentralized trust. Made possible by years of rigorous academic research, ThunderCore is an EVM-compatible public blockchain that offers higher throughput, faster confirmation times, and lower costs to make it quick and easy for DApps to deploy and scale. ThunderCore Hub is a secure and easy-to-use crypto wallet with full DApp browser capability. Manage your assets and experience the fast, scalable, user-centric Web3 decentralized apps made only possible on ThunderCore's high-performance blockchain. Thunder Token is the native currency of an independent public blockchain, ThunderCore. ThunderCore is an Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) compliant blockchain. Tokens based on the ERC-20 standard can be minted and deployed on ThunderCore. Thunder Token can be used to build and monetize decentralized applications on the ThunderCore blockchain.
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    Fluence

    Fluence

    Fluence

    Fluence is a decentralized platform designed to enable the freedom of digital innovation via peer-to-peer applications. Fluence provides an open-source, permissionless, decentralized platform and a development toolkit for building, hosting, and running peer-to-peer applications and protocols. Develop peer-to-peer software without reliance on proprietary cloud services. Fluence network executes applications without a single coordination center, eliminating potential failure and censorship. Nodes run only applications they are interested in or that are commercially viable. Computations are secured with cryptography and no data leaks to untrusted peers. The network serves a diverse set of computing providers, hardware, and available services. Leverage the power of Web 3 by connecting decentralized storage, identity, and on-chain smart contracts to your Fluence application. Make full-featured apps with community-built integrations to Web 3 networks.
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    VITE

    VITE

    VITE

    We believe that innovations on the blockchain don’t need to come at the expense of user experience. Hence we created Vite to make sure Web3 apps are free and fast like their Web2 counterparts. Vite is a lightning-fast smart contract network with zero-fee transactions. ViteBridge is a generic and decentralized cross-chain transfer protocol to bridge all blockchains. ViteBridge will allow unconstrained transfer of information and value between heterogeneous ecosystems and push our industry towards more openness and interoperability. ViteX is the world's first decentralized exchange built on DAG (Directed Acyclic Graph). It is a cross-chain DEX that offers a fast, secure, and smooth trading experience with zero gas fees. Trade and earn the platform token VX at the same time. VX speakers get to share 100% of the trading fees collected on the platform. List your trading pairs permissionless. No KYC. Your information only stays with you.
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    Aleph Zero

    Aleph Zero

    Aleph Zero

    Privacy-enhancing public blockchain with instant finality. Aleph Zero is built for enterprise, Web 3.0, and DeFi use-cases. Aleph Zero is a proof-of-stake public blockchain. We combined an original, aBFT consensus protocol with a customized substrate stack. Currently, we’re working on enhancing the platform with a privacy framework based on Zero-knowledge Proofs (ZKPs) and secure Multi-Party Computation (sMPC) to empower developers with a unique approach to private smart contracts. During a laboratory test, Aleph Zero’s peer-reviewed consensus protocol (AlephBFT) achieved 89,600 tx/s with a 416 ms confirmation time in a decentralized test setting of 112 AWS nodes spread across five continents. Aleph Zero’s real-world performance, especially under heavy l network load, is yet to be determined. The Aleph Zero Consensus Protocol has been officially peer-reviewed and accepted for publication in the conference proceedings of advances in financial technology 2019.
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    Solana

    Solana

    Solana Foundation

    Solana is a fast, secure, and censorship resistant blockchain providing the open infrastructure required for global adoption. The best projects in DeFi, Web3, and blockchain gaming choose to build on Solana for the long-term. Solana can process 50k transactions per second. Don't believe us? Stress test the network to experience Solana's speed for yourself. Say goodbye to high fees and slow confirmations. Solana is built for speed, without trade-offs. Solana leverages Proof of History and several other breakthrough innovations to allow the network to scale at the rate of Moore's Law. Never worry about rising fees as your user base grows. Solana is designed to keep fees low for applications with billions of users. Solana's single global state ensures composability between projects. Never deal with multiple shards or layer 2 systems.
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    Harmony

    Harmony

    Harmony

    Harmony is an open and fast blockchain. Our mainnet runs Ethereum applications with 2-second transaction finality and 100 times lower fees. Harmony’s secure bridges offer cross-chain asset transfers with Ethereum, Binance and other chains. Harmony serves as a platform for creators to connect with their community. Harmony’s bridges can connect any Proof-of-Work and Proof-of-Stake chains. Our FlyClient architecture are fully trustless and highly gas-efficient. Currently, our bridges for Ethereum and Binance Smart Chain secure tens of millions cross-chain assets. Developers simply change Chain ID and enjoy faster EVM executions identical at the bytecode level. They can use their familiar and standard Web3 tooling to easily migrate to Harmony. What about users? They can continue to use MetaMask or Ledger — but now pay minimal fees. Any Ethereum wallets or portals can work on Harmony without code changes or new installs.
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