Classification of Global Blockchain Layer 1: Three Main Streams
The Layer 1 blockchain ecosystem in 2026 can be divided into three major groups with entirely different objectives, architectures, and target users.
Public Blockchain Layer 1: open networks that anyone can join, usually associated with tokens. This is the largest group in terms of market capitalization and user count, led by Ethereum, Solana, and BNB Chain. Main objectives: decentralized finance applications, digital assets, decentralized applications (dApps), and increasingly tokenized real-world assets (RWA).
Enterprise Blockchain Layer 1: permissioned networks serving organizations, typically without tokens. Hyperledger Besu, R3 Corda, and Quorum are the three most popular frameworks, used in inter-bank payments, supply chain, and trade finance.
Sovereign/Government Blockchain Layer 1: blockchain infrastructure led or sponsored by governments, serving public services, digital identity, and national data management. This is the fastest-growing group in the 2024-2026 period, with at least 18 countries deploying.
🔑 Read more: What is Blockchain Layer 1? Operating Mechanism and Key Role in the Blockchain Ecosystem
Public Blockchain Layer 1: The race for performance and specialization
Ethereum – The "Settlement Layer" of the Blockchain world
Ethereum still holds the position of the largest Blockchain Layer 1 by application ecosystem. With more than USD 81.7 billion in Total Value Locked (TVL) in decentralized finance applications and USD 165 billion in stablecoins issued, Ethereum is where the majority of decentralized financial activity in the world is concentrated. Mainnet performance reaches 15–25 TPS, but a Layer 1 scaling roadmap to expand it tenfold is being implemented in 2026, combined with the Layer 2 ecosystem (Arbitrum, Optimism, Base) to achieve throughput of thousands of TPS.
Solana – Speed and low cost
Solana stands out with real-world performance of 600–1,144 TPS, the highest in the public Layer 1 group. The Firedancer client version has demoed the ability to reach more than 1 million TPS in benchmark conditions, promising to open a new era for high-speed blockchain. Solana attracts many payment, NFT, and gaming applications thanks to its extremely low transaction costs.
The trend of Layer 1 specialization
The most notable point of the 2025–2026 period is the shift from "do-it-all" Layer 1 to specialized Layer 1. Stablecoin-centric Layer 1 blockchains designed specifically for stablecoin payments, attracted more than USD 548 million in announced investment in 2025. Privacy chains, app-specific chains, and modular blockchains continue to expand, reflecting the trend: instead of one blockchain for everything, the world is moving toward an ecosystem of specialized multi-chains.
Enterprise Blockchain Layer 1: Foundation for large-scale digital economies
Hyperledger Fabric – The enterprise standard
Hyperledger Fabric continues to be the most popular permissioned blockchain framework globally, serving the finance, healthcare, supply chain, and public sectors. The "Fabric-X" update in 2025 marks a leap in performance, exceeding 100,000 TPS, aimed at serving central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) and regulated digital assets.
R3 Corda and Quorum
R3 Corda remains the top choice for trade finance and inter-bank payments, while Quorum (Ethereum-based, developed by ConsenSys) serves enterprise groups that need EVM compatibility. Both are permissioned blockchains, tokenless, and focused on privacy and regulatory compliance.
Sovereign Blockchain Layer 1: The silent revolution
This is the group least noticed by international tech media, yet it has the greatest impact on the daily lives of hundreds of millions of people. At least 18 countries are building sovereign blockchain infrastructure for e-government, digital identity, CBDCs, and data management.
EBSI – The European Union
European Blockchain Services Infrastructure (EBSI) is the world's largest sovereign blockchain by geographic reach, operated by the 27 EU member states along with Norway and Liechtenstein. EBSI uses a Proof of Authority (PoA) mechanism, is tokenless, and complies with GDPR. Main applications include: European Digital Credentials for Learning (cross-border educational credentials), digital notarisation, and eIDAS 2.0 identity authentication. EBSI is expanding through a network of National Competence Centres in each member state during 2025–2026, and is governed by the EUROPEUM-EDIC legal entity.
🔑 Read more: What is EBSI? The Role of EBSI in Europe's Digital Infrastructure
BSN – China
Blockchain-Based Service Network (BSN) of China takes a different approach: rather than being a single Layer 1 blockchain, it is a multi-chain infrastructure that enables application deployment on multiple frameworks — Hyperledger Fabric, FISCO BCOS, and Ethereum-compatible chains. BSN operates with hundreds of nodes domestically and internationally, serving more than 200 applications across 128 cities. BSN China does not support crypto and runs on domestic cloud, reflecting a blockchain strategy that serves the state.
🔑 Read more: What is BSN (Blockchain-based Service Network)? A Complete A–Z Overview
NDAChain – Vietnam
NDAChain is built on a Rootchain-Centric Hierarchical Multichain Architecture for National Blockchain Infrastructure, providing Secure, Decentralized, and internationally Standards-compliant infrastructure for Digital Identity, Data Authentication, and Digital Transformation applications. Designed as a Government Blockchain Infrastructure (GovChain), NDAChain stands out with the following features:
Consensus mechanism: PoA-qBFT (Proof of Authority combined with Byzantine Fault Tolerant)
Performance: 1,200–3,600 TPS, 2-second block time, near-instant finality
Security: Zero-Knowledge Proof (ZKP), advanced encryption, multi-layered authentication
Validators: developing a network of 49 public–private validator nodes (National Data Association, SunGroup, Zalo, Masan, MISA, Sovico, VNVC, etc.)
Compliance: W3C DID/VC, ISO 27001, eIDAS 2.0, Information Security Level 4, etc.
Applications: Digital Identity (NDADID), origin traceability (NDATrace), self-sovereign identity management (NDAKey), etc.
🔑 Read more: NDAChain: Vietnam’s Layer 1 blockchain infrastructure
Leading Southeast Asia, NDAChain's did:nda DID method has been registered in the W3C Registry, helping establish a "digital passport" so that Vietnamese data can be authenticated and interoperable globally. In April 2026, NDAChain together with the GOE Alliance successfully conducted the first cross-border on-chain identity verification transaction in Southeast Asia (Vietnam – Indonesia).
🔑 Read more: NDAChain and GOE Alliance Realize the First Cross-Border On-chain Transaction in Southeast Asia
Other countries
UAE (Dubai Blockchain Strategy): The city of Dubai is pursuing the ambitious goal of putting 100% of government transactions on the blockchain, saving time and significantly reducing administrative costs.
Estonia (X-Road + KSI Blockchain): Known as the world's leading digital nation, Estonia has succeeded in providing 99% of public services online. With more than 1,000 services available, the system ensures absolute transparency and data security for citizens.
South Korea (Klaytn): A large-scale blockchain project using a PoA/BFT consensus mechanism, capable of processing up to 4,000 transactions per second (TPS) and serving more than 50 million transactions per month.
Singapore (Project Guardian): Under the supervision of the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), this project focuses on asset tokenization and building modern sandbox environments for the international finance industry.
India (National Blockchain Framework – Vishvasya): The Indian government is developing a national blockchain framework, prioritizing applications in essential areas such as land rights management and supply chain transparency.
Thailand (Thai Blockchain Initiative): The country is focusing on digital financial solutions, particularly piloting the Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) and applying this technology to tax management.
Blockchain Layer 1 trends in 2026
Trend 1: Nationalization of Blockchain
More than 80 countries have piloted or deployed blockchain in the public sector, according to data from the OECD and WEF. Blockchain is no longer a "startup technology" but has become strategic infrastructure on par with data centers, telecommunications networks, and national payment systems. Vietnam follows this trend with the Prime Minister's Decision No. 1131/QĐ-TTg dated June 12, 2025, issuing the list of strategic technologies and strategic technology products, which includes blockchain technology, and Decision No. 3090/QĐ-BKHCN dated October 8, 2025 of the Ministry of Science and Technology issuing the National Digital Architecture Framework, which includes the National Blockchain Platform under the Group of Platforms Providing Basic Infrastructure Services, managed by the Ministry of Public Security.
Trend 2: Specialization of Layer 1
The era of "one blockchain for everything" is over. Instead, the world is witnessing clear differentiation: Layer 1 for payments (stablecoin chains), Layer 1 for privacy (privacy chains), Layer 1 for nations (government chains), and Layer 1 for specific applications (app-specific chains). Each type is optimized with its own architecture for its intended purpose.
Trend 3: Interoperability between Layer 1s
Sovereign Layer 1 blockchains are beginning to connect with one another. The event in which NDAChain and GOE Alliance executed the first cross-border on-chain identity verification transaction Vietnam – Indonesia (April 2026) is proof of this: the future is not one single blockchain dominating, but a network of sovereign blockchains interoperable through common standards (W3C DID, ISO).
Trend 4: Blockchain + AI
The intersection of Blockchain Layer 1 and AI is not just a technical trend but a core foundation for sustainable digital infrastructure. Blockchain provides the trusted data layer that AI needs to operate accurately: data provenance verification, anti-tampering, and accountability. As Decision 1131/QĐ-TTg places both AI and blockchain in the list of strategic technologies, this combination will shape Vietnam's digital infrastructure for the coming decade.
Trend 5: Market size explosion
The global blockchain technology market reached approximately USD 57.64 billion in 2025 and is projected to surpass USD 100 billion in 2026, with compound annual growth. In the Layer 1 segment alone, total market capitalization has exceeded USD 2.96 trillion with 18 million active users, with BNB Chain leading in user count.
Vietnam's position on the Global Blockchain Layer 1 map
In the global context, Vietnam holds a special position. Unlike countries that use third-party frameworks (Hyperledger, Ethereum), Vietnam is building a self-sovereign Layer 1 blockchain NDAChain, fully owning the technology and intellectual property. This approach is similar to China with BSN and the EU with EBSI, but with its own unique characteristics.
🔑 Read more: Vietnam Leads Southeast Asia in Global W3C-Compliant DID Interoperability
NDAChain is developing a public–private validation model (49 validators from both government agencies and enterprises), complying with international standards (W3C DID, ISO 27001), forming a trusted infrastructure layer in the national digital transformation architecture. The did:nda DID method has been registered in the W3C Registry, placing Vietnam among the pioneering Asian countries in decentralized identity.
The successful cross-border on-chain identity verification transaction with Indonesia (April 2026) shows that NDAChain not only serves domestically but is also moving toward international interoperability, from integration to mastery.
Ensuring national data sovereignty
The global Blockchain Layer 1 map of 2026 reveals three parallel streams: public blockchains serving the decentralized finance market, enterprise blockchains serving large-scale digital economies, and sovereign blockchains serving strategic infrastructure. Each stream has different objectives, architectures, and governance models, it is not a winner-takes-all race, but rather the natural diversification of a maturing technology.
🔑 Read more: Vietnam's Blockchain Layer 1: When Vietnamese People Master the Core Technology
Vietnam, with NDAChain, is taking its rightful place on this map: building a sovereign Layer 1 blockchain infrastructure, self-mastering the technology, complying with international standards, and connecting to the global network of sovereign blockchains. This is not about following a trend, it is about building the digital trust infrastructure for a prosperous Vietnam in the data economy era.
👉 Learn more about NDAChain - Vietnam's National Blockchain Platform at: https://ndachain.vn
