It’s clear that the cryptocurrency industry had a remarkable year in 2024, with rising coin prices fueling excitement and growth. However, when it comes to on-chain users across most relevant chains, the picture isn’t quite as rosy. According to a recent report from blockchain growth platform Flipside, there’s a need for networks to offer both quantity and quality of on-chain activity to attract users and turn them into valuable contributors.
One standout performer this year has been the layer-2 network Base, launched by the US crypto exchange Coinbase. The platform experienced exponential growth in user count, particularly in October when it saw a record 19.4 million new users acquire the network – a staggering 8 times more than the previous month’s figures.
What’s more, Base managed to attract 13.7 million of these users alone, far outstripping any other competitor. But it wasn’t just about acquiring new users; Base also did exceptionally well when it came to retaining them. The platform boasted an impressive 15.1 million super users who executed over 100 decentralized finance (DeFi) transactions each month – a figure that was 38.4% higher than the next closest competitor, Ethereum.
Ethereum itself had a strong showing this year too, with its acquired users averaging 1.56 million per month – significantly higher than its layer-2 competitors Arbitrum and Optimism. Additionally, Ethereum amassed an impressive 10.9 million super users engaged in DeFi activities – once again outperforming both Arbitrum and Optimism.
Interestingly, the growth seen across some chains can be attributed in part to increasing institutional acceptance of cryptocurrencies. Additionally, notable events such as Grayscale listing several new cryptocurrencies as “assets under consideration” may have played a role in driving this growth. However, it wasn’t all good news.
Despite Bitcoin’s historic price surges and the launch of spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in the US, the number of acquired users on the network only increased by 935,900 monthly – a far cry from the growth seen on other chains. Moreover, there was a 28.5% drop in acquired users during November’s post-US election rally, suggesting widespread speculative activity rather than meaningful user onboarding.
Finally, decentralized exchanges like Uniswap continued to dominate across major chains – particularly on Base and Ethereum – highlighting the importance of interoperability between different platforms within the industry.
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