The second quarter of 2024 witnessed a significant surge in the usage of decentralized applications (dApps), with unique active wallets surpassing 10 million, driven by growth in sectors like SocialFi. Despite overall expansion, the Gaming sector experienced fluctuations, while Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) recorded a substantial increase in transaction volume. DappRadar’s report warns of the sustainability of growth in Web3 activity and highlights the performance of key players in the NFT trading market.
In the second quarter of 2024, usage of decentralized applications (dApps) surged, with unique active wallets (UAW) surpassing 10 million, a 40% increase from the previous quarter, according to DappRadar. This period marked substantial growth across sectors, particularly in SocialFi, which saw a 66% rise to nearly 2 million UAWs.
Despite the broad expansion, the Gaming sector experienced a temporary spike to over three million users in early May before retracting by 30%. Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) also had a notable quarter, reaching $4 billion in transaction volume, up from $1.6 billion the previous year, driven by the popularity of Ordinals and the Runes protocol.
OpenSea, historically a leader in NFT trading, dropped to third place with $369 million in trading volume across 1.8 million transactions, behind Blur ($1.27 billion) and Magic Eden ($884 million). However, OpenSea continued to attract more unique buyers, with 1,255 buyers compared to Blur’s 836 on July 2.
Only the Runestones NFT collection showed growth among the top five collections, increasing by 93% to $165 million in traded value. Collections like Bored Ape Yacht Club and Pudgy Penguins stagnated amid falling prices.
DappRadar’s report on July 4, 2024, noted that the increase in Web3 activity might be driven by temporary airdrops, cautioning that this growth may not be sustainable without a focus on user experience and robust development plans.
While decentralized exchanges like Uniswap and Raydium enjoyed growth in unique active wallets by 80% and 134% respectively, others like Jupiter Exchange and SyncSwap experienced declines. Total value locked (TVL) fell by 4%, significantly impacting networks like Tron and Arbitrum.
This data comes as the broader crypto market faces challenges, with Bitcoin falling below $60,000 and Ethereum under $3,000. Meanwhile, the process of settling Mt. Gox dues continues, and the German government remains active in selling seized Bitcoin assets.
