The cryptocurrency industry has seen tremendous growth in 2024, with rising coin prices fueling excitement across the board. However, despite these positive trends, on-chain user activity remained relatively stagnant on most networks. A report from the blockchain growth platform Flipside reveals that networks need to focus on offering both quantity and quality on-chain activity if they want to attract new users and convert them into valuable contributors.
Coinbase’s Layer-2 Network Takes Off One notable exception to the lackluster on-chain user growth trend is Base, the layer-2 network launched by the largest American crypto exchange, Coinbase. According to Flipside’s data, Base’s monthly acquired users increased by an astonishing 56 times this year, reaching a record high of 19.4 million in October.
This growth was largely driven by the platform’s success in attracting new users, with 13.7 million new users joining the network in October alone – a whopping 8 times more than the next-highest performing chain, Polygon. Ethereum and Polygon Also See Growth While Base stole the show when it came to user acquisition, Ethereum still managed to grow its user base significantly.
The second-largest crypto network averaged 1.56 million acquired users per month, outperforming its layer-2 networks Arbitrum and Optimism. Additionally, Ethereum saw impressive growth in its number of super users engaged in decentralized finance (DeFi) activities, with 10.9 million super users compared to Arbitrum’s 6.2 million and Optimism’s 1.8 million.
Bitcoin User Growth Lags Behind Unfortunately, Bitcoin did not experience the same level of growth when it came to on-chain user activity. Despite its historic price surges and the launch of spot Bitcoin ETFs in the US, the network only managed to acquire 935,900 new users monthly. Interestingly, there was a 19.2% uptick in acquired users during Bitcoin’s major rally in March, but this number dropped by 28.5% during the post-US election rally in November.
Uniswap Dominates Across Major Chains Decentralized exchange Uniswap continued to dominate across major chains, particularly on Base and Ethereum. This highlights the importance of robust trading infrastructure for attracting and retaining users in the highly competitive world of cryptocurrency. In conclusion, while the overall cryptocurrency market saw tremendous growth in 2024, on-chain user activity remained stagnant on most networks.
However, platforms like Base and Ethereum managed to buck this trend by offering compelling value propositions to attract new users. As the industry continues to evolve, it will be interesting to see which networks can effectively leverage their unique strengths to drive sustained growth and adoption among users.
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