The Canton Network accounted for about 42% of all blockchain fees in the first quarter of 2026 and topped the Messari ranking thanks to increased activity from institutional participants.
According to the State of Blockchains report for Q1 2026, published by Messari, Canton Network generated approximately $193 million in fees out of $457 million collected by 21 blockchains included in the study.
Why Canton Network Became the Leader in Fee Volume
In the first quarter of 2026, Canton Network ranked first among 21 blockchains by total fees collected. Canton Network accounted for about $193 million in fees. This is nearly 42% of the total volume that Messari recorded among 21 blockchains studied. At the same time, total fees across all networks increased by only 2% for the quarter.
Against the backdrop of a weak market, these figures look unusual. While many blockchains lost activity along with falling cryptocurrency prices, Canton continued to gain momentum. The main source of growth was financial organizations and large institutional participants, not retail traders.
However, the network’s success has so far had little impact on the price of Canton Coin. At the time of writing, the token was trading near $0.15, showing a decrease of about 3% over the day. Despite earlier expectations of further growth, in terms of market capitalization, the asset remained only in the second tier of the crypto market.
Canton Coin (CC) price dynamics. Source: CoinGecko
What Drove Fee Growth
Canton is a layer-1 blockchain focused on regulated financial organizations. The network was launched by Digital Asset in May 2023 with the participation of more than 30 representatives of the financial sector.
One of the key features of Canton is its built-in privacy mechanisms and the Global Synchronizer system. It allows different institutional platforms to synchronize and settle with each other. This component is currently managed by the Canton Foundation with support from the Linux Foundation.
Ecosystem participants include Goldman Sachs, BNP Paribas and Deutsche Börse. In January, JPMorgan Kinexys announced the launch of the JPMD deposit token on the Canton network. Meanwhile, DTCC is working on tokenizing US Treasury bonds it holds in custody. In April, HSBC also ran a pilot project with tokenized deposits on the network.
See also: Bybit Added Western Union Stablecoin
The fee growth was linked to the expansion of the real-world asset (RWA) tokenization segment, the development of repo markets, and an increase in bond transactions that banks started conducting via blockchain.
According to Messari , the RWA sector continued to grow even as many other areas of the crypto market declined.
“The State of Blockchains report for Q1 2026 is out. We analyzed 21 networks across five key metrics and saw one common trend: even in a weak quarter, some blockchains managed to increase fees, stablecoin volumes, and the real-world asset tokenization sector,” the researchers said.
According to Messari, the main result of the quarter was not the overall market trend, but the success of individual projects that managed to maintain growth despite unfavorable conditions.
Growth Concentrated in a Few Networks
Growth in the industry was uneven. Not all blockchains were able to benefit from the recovery of certain market segments. Most networks showed a decline, while only a few projects saw growth.
Against this backdrop, Tron stood out. Among the five largest blockchains, it showed the best result, increasing its market capitalization by about 10% to $29.7 billion.
Head of Research Operations Messari Luis Rincon noted that the fee-burning model in TRX played an important role.
“Tron was the only network in the top five to increase its market capitalization. In Q1, the network collected about $83 million in fees, and all these funds were burned in TRX. This mechanism partially protected the asset from the overall market downturn. At the same time, the total fee volume among the networks studied grew by about 2% to $457 million, mainly thanks to Canton Network. Canton took first place in fees, providing 42% of the total, or $193 million, amid rising institutional activity. The real-world asset tokenization segment also continued to expand, despite declines in other metrics,” Rincon said.
The real-world asset tokenization sector also grew unevenly. The fastest growth was seen in the Sei network, where RWA volume increased by 350% for the quarter. Next were Base with 93% growth and BNB Chain with 76%. In absolute terms, Ethereum showed the best result, with tokenized asset volume increasing by nearly $3.9 billion.
The total stablecoin supply grew moderately, reaching $299 billion. Among major networks, Polygon and BNB Chain showed the fastest growth rates.
For now, the main beneficiaries of the growing interest in tokenized assets are networks with their own specialization. Canton is one of them. Whether it will retain first place in fee volume will become clear in the coming quarters. Much will depend on whether banks, funds, and other large participants continue to move settlements and assets to the blockchain.
