"80% of crypto market cap concentrated in base network chains such as Bitcoin and Ethereum"
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Summary
- Charles Schwab said that as of end-2025, about 80% of the roughly $3.2 trillion crypto market cap is concentrated in base blockchain networks such as Bitcoin and Ethereum.
- The report said infrastructure projects face structural limits in value accrual, while product-layer protocols such as Aave and Lido are likely to become industry standards over the long term.
- From an investment standpoint, it presented network effects, market share, scalability, and tokenomics as key criteria, concluding that base networks and widely used product protocols have the highest potential for long-term value creation.
An analysis suggests that the crypto market’s underlying value is concentrated in base blockchain networks such as Bitcoin and Ethereum. The argument is that rather than treating crypto as a single asset class, investors should approach it by structural layers.
According to CoinDesk on the 21st (local time), Charles Schwab’s Center for Financial Research, in a recent report, analyzed the crypto ecosystem by dividing it into three layers: △base networks △infrastructure △products. The report said that as of end-2025, about 80% of the roughly $3.2 trillion in total crypto market capitalization was concentrated in base blockchain networks such as Bitcoin and Ethereum.
The report explained that base networks are the layer that processes and records transactions, forming the foundation for most crypto applications. By contrast, the infrastructure layer consists of software—such as oracles, bridges, and scaling solutions—that connects blockchains and applications. Charles Schwab assessed that despite the essential role these infrastructure projects play, they face structural limits in accumulating value because they have no direct user touchpoints and low switching costs driven by competition.
The product layer includes protocols that users interact with directly, such as exchanges, lending platforms, and staking services. Charles Schwab said these services, supported by relatively high user loyalty and switching costs, are likely to become industry standards over the long term. As representative examples, it cited the crypto lending protocol Aave and the staking protocol Lido.
Charles Schwab also drew comparisons with the traditional software industry. Base networks were likened to cloud infrastructure such as Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Microsoft Azure, while the product layer was compared to user-facing services like Salesforce and Netflix. Infrastructure software, meanwhile, was described as important but often struggling to secure pricing power and user loyalty.
From an investment perspective, the report proposed applying frameworks used to analyze growth stocks to crypto. It cited network effects, market share, scalability, and tokenomics as key evaluation criteria, and said Ethereum has secured strong network effects based on total value locked (TVL) that is more than 10 times larger than competing projects in smart contracts. However, transaction throughput and token-holding concentration were flagged as potential risks.
While stressing that crypto remains a high-risk, highly volatile asset class, Charles Schwab emphasized the need over the long term to distinguish where value actually accrues rather than investing evenly across all layers. The report concluded that base networks and widely used product protocols have the greatest potential for long-term value creation.
