🧭 I. By Openness (Most Common Classification)

Category Description Examples
Public Blockchain Fully open; anyone can participate, validate, and transact. Data is immutable and transparent. Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, Polkadot
Consortium Blockchain Managed jointly by multiple organizations; nodes require authorization. Commonly used in enterprise or government collaborations. Hyperledger Fabric, R3 Corda, Quorum, FISCO BCOS
Private Blockchain Controlled by a single organization; access restricted to internal members only. IBM Blockchain, certain internal enterprise ledger systems
Hybrid Blockchain Combines public and private features; some data is public, some is confidential. XinFin, Dragonchain

🧩 II. By Function and Use Case

Category Function Examples
Payment Chains Focused on peer-to-peer payments and value transfer. Bitcoin, Litecoin, Bitcoin Cash
Smart Contract Chains Support smart contracts and DApp deployment. Ethereum, BNB Chain, Avalanche, Polygon
Privacy Chains Emphasize transaction privacy and anonymity. Monero, Zcash, Secret Network
Storage Chains Used for decentralized file storage. Filecoin, Arweave, Sia
Interoperability Chains Connect multiple blockchain ecosystems. Polkadot, Cosmos, LayerZero
Oracle Chains Provide external data to blockchains. Chainlink, Band Protocol
Infrastructure Chains Provide Layer 1/Layer 2 scaling capabilities to support other applications. Ethereum, Solana, Optimism, Arbitrum
Social / Content Chains Decentralized social media, content publishing, creator economy. Lens Protocol, Farcaster, CyberConnect
AI / Data Chains Integrate AI, data computation, and model training. Bittensor, Fetch.ai, Ocean Protocol

🪜 III. By Layer Architecture (Technical Level)

Layer Description Examples
Layer 0 Underlying protocols for interoperability and communication between blockchains. Polkadot, Cosmos
Layer 1 The main chain itself (base layer). Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana
Layer 2 Built on top of Layer 1 for scaling or reducing transaction costs. Arbitrum, Optimism, zkSync, Base
Layer 3 (Application Layer) User-facing applications such as DApps, DeFi, GameFi, social protocols, etc. Uniswap, Aave, Friend.tech, Mirror

🧠 IV. By Consensus Mechanism

Consensus Mechanism Features Examples
PoW (Proof of Work) Blocks produced via computational competition; secure but high energy consumption. Bitcoin
PoS (Proof of Stake) Staking tokens to gain block validation rights; low energy use. Ethereum (current), Cardano
DPoS (Delegated Proof of Stake) Elected representative nodes produce blocks. EOS, TRON
PBFT (Practical Byzantine Fault Tolerance) High performance, low latency; suitable for consortium chains. Hyperledger, Tendermint
PoA (Proof of Authority) Blocks produced by designated authority nodes. BNB Chain (early), VeChain
Hybrid Consensus Combines multiple mechanisms to optimize performance. Polkadot (BABE + GRANDPA)

💡 V. By Application Scenarios

Scenario Use Cases
Finance DeFi, stablecoins, cross-border payments
Supply Chain Logistics tracking, anti-counterfeiting verification
Gaming GameFi, NFT item ownership
Social Decentralized social networks, content copyright
Healthcare Medical record sharing, drug traceability
Government Digital identity, electronic voting
AI / Data Model training data sharing, privacy computing