Gate Research Institute: Analysis of the New Generation Public Chain Strategy: Sonic, Berachain, Abstract, Sui, Hyperliquid, Unichain, Sei

Summary

• Competition among public chains intensifies: In 2025, blockchain infrastructure enters the “stock game”, and next-generation public chains such as high-performance chains (Sonic), innovative model chains (Berachain), L2 (Abstract, Unichain), and DeFi optimization chains (Sei, Hyperliquid) are defining a new phase of “inter-chain warfare”.

• Sui Performance and Security Risks: Sui pursues high performance using the Move language and parallel execution architecture, but on May 22, 2025, its largest DEX, Cetus, was hacked, resulting in a liquidity loss of over $260 million. Sui’s TVL dropped from $2.1 billion to $1.542 billion, raising doubts about the security of Move.
• Sonic’s strong growth and ecological incentive effectiveness: Driven by the dual engines of “performance + incentives,” Sonic’s TVL increased nearly 40 times within three months of its mainnet launch, surpassing 1 billion USD, with its on-chain “GDP” reaching 1.47 million USD.

• Berachain PoL Innovation and Liquidity Drive: Berachain achieves “governance-bound liquidity” through its unique PoL consensus and three-token model ($BERA, $BGT, $HONEY), with a TVL of $1.189 billion as of May 20, 2025.
• Abstract Consumer-Level L2 Strategy: Abstract is positioned as a consumer-level Ethereum L2, lowering the user threshold through chain abstraction. As of May 22, 2025, its DeFi TVL exceeds $27 million, with the tool-based protocol Reservoir Tools contributing $14.87 million, demonstrating early tool and speculative activity.
• The Rise of On-Chain Futures and Profitability of Hyperliquid: Hyperliquid, as a self-developed perpetual contract trading protocol on its own L1 chain, has a TVL of approximately 1.309 billion USD, with a daily trading volume of over 11.5 billion USD in perpetual contracts, establishing its leading position in the on-chain derivatives field.

• Unichain Uniswap Drive and Liquidity Incentives: Unichain, as a DeFi-optimized L2 launched by Uniswap Labs, saw its TVL soar from 9 million dollars to 267 million dollars after launching a 5 million dollar incentive program. As of May 23, 2025, Unichain’s TVL is approximately 530 million dollars, with Uniswap contributing 437.44 million dollars.
• Sei Network DeFi Optimization and Data Performance: Sei Network focuses on DeFi and high-frequency trading, utilizing an on-chain centralized limit order book. As of May 25, 2025, its TVL reached 487 million USD, with daily active addresses exceeding 300,000.

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