The digital asset economy is undergoing a structural transformation, shifting from speculation to sustainable, utility-driven growth. According to a recent report by the venture capital firm 1kx.capital, the on-chain economy is projected to generate a total of $19.8 billion in fees for 2025, representing a 35% year-on-year increase. This surge is mainly due to the DeFi sector and financial applications, which concentrate most of this significant crecimiento de comisiones on-chain DeFi.
The data from 1kx.capital reveals that users spent $9.7 billion on fees during the first half of 2025, a record figure that exceeds the same period last year by 41%. It is important to note that this total even surpasses the fees recorded in the first half of 2021, a historically bullish year. Furthermore, on-chain fees in 2025 are already more than ten times higher than in 2020, showing a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) close to 60%. The firm indicates that, unlike the past where fees were tied to speculation and costly Proof-of-Work, today, fees are primarily generated by real-use applications.
The 1kx.capital report highlights that decentralized financial applications (DeFi) maintain a dominant position, accounting for 63% of the total fees in the first half of 2025, or about $6.1 billion. On the other hand, core categories alone such as decentralized exchanges (DEXs), perpetual and derivatives platforms, and lending protocols generated approximately $4.4 billion. In the ecosystem, while Aave remains a major player in lending, new protocols are quickly gaining market share. Thus, on platforms like Solana, Raydium and Meteora have driven growth, and Jupiter has captured a significant share in derivatives. Moreover, base blockchain accounted for only 22% of the total fees, mainly due to Layer 1 transaction costs and Maximum Extractable Value (MEV) capture.
What Does the Reduction in On-Chain Fees Mean for the Investor?
It is also crucial to mention that the average transaction fee has decreased by 86%, an improvement largely driven by Ethereum. Despite the cost reduction, participation in the ecosystem accelerated; nevertheless, the number of wallets making monthly transactions increased 5.3 times, reaching 273 million. This trend is fundamental, as it indicates that the drop in costs has encouraged greater user activity. Therefore, the market is being restructured, where the ability to generate recurring revenue through real-use fees separates durable companies and networks from merely speculative projects.
In the current landscape, the report projects that total on-chain fees could reach $32 billion by 2026, continuing a 63% year-on-year growth trajectory driven by applications. While on-chain fees are not the only source of revenue (with an additional $46.6 billion coming from off-chain sources and network rewards), their expansion suggests a more mature industry. The market is evolving toward a more stable business model, where utility and real demand for services drive value. The explosive growth in areas like DePIN and consumer applications, in addition to the continued leadership of DeFi, suggests that the industry is entering a phase of mass adoption driven by the efficiency of new infrastructure.
