Are Layer-1 Blockchains Still Valuable, or Is Their Investment Case Fading?

Source: Coindoo Original Title: Are Layer-1 Blockchains Still Valuable, or Is Their Investment Case Fading? Original Link: https://coindoo.com/are-layer-1-blockchains-still-valuable-or-is-their-investment-case-fading/ Crypto debates usually revolve around price action or upcoming upgrades, but the latest controversy goes deeper than market cycles.

Key Takeaways

• The L1 debate now hinges on whether defensibility or exponential adoption determines long-term value.
• Wang believes most blockchains are too easily replaced to justify lasting valuations.
• Qureshi argues that early-stage fundamentals are misleading and that blockchains should be evaluated on long-term global scale potential.

The disagreement now centers on whether base-layer blockchains — the networks that power everything else — are still capable of holding long-term value.

Two industry figures, Qiao Wang and Haseeb Qureshi, offered opposing outlooks this week, and their exchange has exposed a philosophical divide that could shape how investors evaluate tokens going forward.

The Argument for Fragility: Blockchains Are Too Easy to Abandon

Qiao Wang’s case does not rely on the traditional valuation lens. Instead, it comes down to defensibility. In his view, there is little stopping users and developers from leaving one blockchain and moving to another. He sees this portability as the core weakness of most Layer-1 ecosystems.

Developers can redeploy their applications quickly, users can switch networks with minimal friction, and the number of new blockchains continues to accelerate. Because of this, Wang believes the majority of L1s operate more like interchangeable utilities than irreplaceable platforms. He does not expect them to collapse; he simply does not expect them to become the strongest long-term performers.

The only exception, in his framework, is when a chain controls not just the underlying ledger but also the applications that run on it. A vertically unified design, he argues, creates the first real barrier to exit. He points to Solana, Base, Hyperliquid, and certain new corporate chains as early examples of this emerging model.

The Argument for Durability: Early Systems Look Small Before They Scale

Haseeb Qureshi sees the matter very differently. He believes the market has become overly skeptical at the exact stage when it should be thinking biggest. His essay, centered on exponential growth curves rather than moat theory, compares the long-term trajectory of blockchains to the early days of digital commerce.

To Qureshi, the criticism of L1 valuations stems from a linear mindset. Revenues on a developing network look unimpressive for years until adoption hits critical mass. Once that happens, the infrastructure transitions from experimental to foundational, and valuations that once looked irrational suddenly look conservative.

He argues that applying traditional metrics such as price-to-earnings ratios fails to capture how network effects compound. If even a small fraction of global economic activity eventually settles through blockchain rails, the scale would justify valuations far beyond what current sentiment assumes.

A Debate With No Middle Ground

Although the two perspectives rely on different logic, they converge on a single question: what should investors prioritize? One philosophy rewards tokens that build structural lock-in. The other rewards tokens positioned to capture massive future volume, even if their fundamentals look fragile today.

What makes this clash significant is that both frameworks cannot dominate the market at the same time. An industry defined by easy migration and constant competition would support Wang’s caution. An industry where blockchains become core financial infrastructure would validate Qureshi’s optimism.

The conversation is not really about Ethereum, Solana, Monad, Hyperliquid, or any individual network. It is about how value forms — through defensibility or through scale.