Author: flipside
Compiled by: Shenchao TechFlow
1. Introduction
On-chain user trends as we approach 2025.
2024 is a turning point for Web3 user growth, with the number of new users and super users on major public chains reaching all-time highs. Public chains like Base have redefined what exponential growth means, while Ethereum and its L2 solutions have demonstrated how a deeply rooted ecosystem can adapt to evolving user demands.
However, a deeper analysis of the data reveals that not all growth has the same value—highlighting the importance of focusing not just on quantity but also on quality when assessing on-chain activity.
To this end, this report is based on Flipside's 2024 real-time on-chain crypto user data, evaluating this year's cryptocurrency activity through more actionable multivariate indicators in addition to traditional performance metrics, providing a new way to assess the health of on-chain users in 2025.
Brief Summary
Behind the news of user growth lies a deeper challenge: how to build ecosystems that can create meaningful, lasting participation rather than just fleeting speculative behavior.
In short, most blockchains are still in the early stages of converting ordinary users into high-value contributors.
User Acquisition Status:
Base: Set a record of 19.4 million new user acquisitions in October 2024, contributing 13.7 million users—almost eight times that of the second-place Polygon.
BTC: BTC price hit an all-time high of over $100,000, but Bitcoin's monthly user acquisition only grew by 935,900, indicating that there is widespread speculative activity among existing users rather than significant new user entries.
ETH: Monthly new user acquisition reached 1.56 million, surpassing Arbitrum and Optimism, with a month-over-month user growth of 33.4% in March. Notably, Arbitrum achieved a remarkable peak of 3.3 million acquired users in May.
Super User Status:
Base: Attracted 15.1 million wallets that executed 100+ DeFi transactions, exceeding Ethereum's 10.7 million super users by 38.4%.
ETH: The number of 10.9 million DeFi-related super users exceeds the total of Arbitrum and Optimism (6.2 million and 1.8 million, respectively), highlighting Ethereum's advantages in liquidity and convenience.
Polygon: Added 1.5 million super users in 2024 and recorded 867.7 million super user transactions this year, highlighting its success in applications beyond DeFi.
DEX Usage:
Uniswap: Expanded its dominance on major public chains, capturing 91.3% of the new user DEX activity on Base, and its market share on Ethereum increased by 27.72% compared to 2023.
Despite Uniswap's growth, Trader Joe still maintains its leading position on Avalanche, with a market share of 61.1%, up 6.1% from 2023.
Unlike 2023, the top three DEX rankings for user acquisition and super users are now consistent across all observed public chains in 2024.
2. New User Acquisition
New user acquisition reached a monthly peak of 19.4 million in October 2024.
This year's on-chain user growth was led by Base, which contributed 13.7 million new users—almost eight times that of second-place Polygon. Overall, it has been an impressive year for the entire on-chain user growth industry. New user acquisition has consistently risen throughout 2024, with only a slight pullback in August.
Note: 'Acquired users' is defined as users who have performed at least 2 transactions on a certain chain, with the second transaction occurring in 2024.
This ongoing growth may be influenced by the increasing acceptance of cryptocurrency by institutions, reflected in a series of BTC and ETH ETFs announced earlier this year.
Other exciting developments in the first half of 2024 may have fueled this optimism, such as Grayscale listing several new cryptocurrencies as 'assets under consideration,' and during the September 2024 Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting, the Federal Reserve reduced U.S. interest rates by 50 basis points—the first rate cut in four years.
Base's astonishing growth.
Base started 2024 slowly, but since January, its monthly new user acquisition has skyrocketed by 56 times.
Base had only 244,700 new users in January, but experienced steady and significant growth throughout the year. By November, the chain's monthly user acquisition had grown 56 times compared to January, averaging 4.7 million new users per month in 2024.
The chain's performance has greatly benefited from Coinbase's large user base, which collectively manages about $130 billion in assets. Popular DeFi protocols like Aerodrome may also have attracted users from other EVM chains, while Base successfully drove user interest through meme coin trading and on-chain AI (such as new initiatives like Based Agents) in popular areas.
Bitcoin's performance.
Despite BTC prices hitting an all-time high, it has not attracted a large number of new users this year.
New user acquisition for Bitcoin remained relatively stable in 2024, despite a significant appreciation in BTC value. Overall, Bitcoin's average monthly user acquisition growth this year was 935,900, ranking third from the bottom among the seven traditional public chains observed in this report.
This indicates that the appreciation of Bitcoin's price is primarily driven by the enthusiasm of its existing user base and speculative activities, while the effect of BTC price growth on attracting new users varies.
In March 2024, BTC's first major price surge coincided with a month-over-month user acquisition growth of 19.2%. However, in November—when BTC reached the long-awaited $100,000 milestone during a sustained price increase—user acquisition actually declined by 28.5%.
Ethereum's performance compared to L2.
Ethereum's user acquisition overall surpassed its traditional L2s, although Arbitrum also showed impressive single-month growth.
Ethereum's growth in 2024 exceeded that of its two leading L2 chains, with an average user acquisition of 1.56 million per month, in contrast to Arbitrum's 1.2 million and Optimism's 348,000. Excluding December, Ethereum experienced only four months of month-over-month declines and peaked in March with 1.9 million new users—a 33.4% month-over-month increase.
Both Arbitrum and Optimism started this year with considerable momentum, reaching peaks of user acquisition growth in April and May 2024, but user growth declined in the remaining months of the year.
However, it is noteworthy that Arbitrum's acquisition of 3.3 million users in May surpassed Ethereum's peak monthly acquisition in 2024. In this context, Arbitrum's user acquisition growth consistently outpaced Optimism throughout the year, thanks to the success of its Arbitrum One program and the integration and expansion of GameFi and SocialFi. In the first half of 2024, 169 builder grants were approved, and with many behind-the-scenes advancements, it remains to be seen whether this chain can regain its position as the world's leading EVM L2 chain.
Performance of new public chains in 2024.
Among the public chains launched in 2024, Aleo has achieved the highest average user acquisition growth, while Blast has gradually faded after setting a record in a single month.
In terms of newly launched public chains, Aleo achieved the highest user acquisition growth, averaging 175,200 new users, compared to Blast and Aleo's 134,900 and 90,700 users, respectively. This can be attributed to Blast's sharp decline in user acquisition starting in July, and Sei's slow start—despite launching its mainnet months ago, it only reached a month-over-month peak of 324,500 users in October.
It remains unclear whether these public chains can regain growth momentum by 2025—especially considering that Base also experienced a similar post-launch cooling period before a surge in 2024. Among the four new public chains being tracked, Lava's performance has so far been overshadowed by competitors, and although Blast achieved the highest monthly user acquisition growth among newly launched public chains in June, there is still much ground to catch up.
3. Super User
As of December 2024, Base has the most DeFi-related super users, with 15.1 million wallets executing 100 or more transactions.
In addition to attracting the most new users, Base also attracted the largest number of DeFi-related super users, with the number of users executing 100 or more transactions exceeding that of second-place Ethereum by 38.4%. Following closely are Ethereum's 10.7 million new super users and Polygon's 7 million.
Note: 'Super user' is defined as a user who has executed at least 100 transactions on a certain chain, regardless of the creation time of the associated wallet or the timing of the last transaction.
Given Base's explosive growth this year, its impressive number of super users may not come as a surprise. This success is likely attributed to Base surpassing many traditional public chains in multiple popular areas this year, including but not limited to meme coin and NFT trading.
On the other end, Avalanche and Blast have similar numbers of super users this year, averaging about 1.3 million, while Optimism performed slightly better with 1.7 million users executing at least 100 DeFi transactions.
Polygon's outstanding performance.
Polygon added the most super users this year and continues to stand out in non-DeFi related super user activities.
Polygon has attracted 1.5 million new super users in 2024 so far—almost double that of second-place Base.
Polygon's super user activity also surpassed all other observed public chains, with an average monthly super user transaction volume of 867.7 million. In addition to Base's impressive 786.3 million super user transactions, Arbitrum also performed strongly in 2024 so far, reaching 365.3 million super user transactions.
Polygon's outstanding performance continues its long-standing lead in super user activity since 2021. In 2021, Polygon's transaction volume reached 1.14 billion, setting the highest record for super user activity across all blockchains, which remains unbroken.
However, despite Polygon having the highest volume of super user activity across all blockchains, the number of DeFi-related super user wallets ranks only third. This indicates that Polygon has successfully attracted a large number of high-frequency trading users through GameFi and other application scenarios, rather than relying solely on DeFi applications.
Ethereum's number of super users in the DeFi space exceeds the combined total of Arbitrum and Optimism.
As of 2024, Ethereum has reached 10.9 million super users in the DeFi space, second only to Base. This figure far exceeds the combined total of Arbitrum (6.2 million) and Optimism (1.8 million).
While EVM L2 (Ethereum Virtual Machine compatible layer 2 networks) generally offer faster speeds and lower transaction costs, many users may still find cross-chain bridging of assets too complex or risky, or may prefer to use the Ethereum mainnet due to its deeper liquidity and more established market position.
However, Ethereum's layer 2 networks need to further explore methods to attract users, rather than solely relying on their performance advantages over the Ethereum mainnet to draw on-chain activity.
4. DEX Users
Uniswap continues to expand its market share across various blockchains, further solidifying its position as a leader in the decentralized exchange (DEX) space.
Among all observed chains, Uniswap remains the undisputed number one, with the exception of Avalanche and Blast chains. Particularly on the Base chain, Uniswap's user share soared from 36.8% to 91.3%. Given the exponential growth of users on the Base chain this year, this achievement is particularly striking.
Similarly, Uniswap's performance on other major chains has also improved. Compared to 2023, its DEX activity share on Ethereum increased by 27.72%, while on Polygon it grew by 12.57%. Notably, Polygon's DEX activity has historically been relatively decentralized, with its user base exhibiting more diverse trading behaviors compared to other leading chains.
Even without considering Uniswap's protocol upgrades, this phenomenon may reflect the 'winner-takes-all' trend in the DeFi space, where larger platforms dominate market share due to their deep liquidity and brand recognition.
On Avalanche, Trader Joe further solidified its leading position while Uniswap's ranking also improved.
Uniswap has now become the second most popular DEX on Avalanche, whereas last year it didn't even make the top five. However, Trader Joe remains the most popular DEX on Avalanche, holding a 61.1% market share, and its market share has increased by about 6% since 2023.
As the first natively built major DEX on Avalanche, Trader Joe has been committed to maintaining and expanding its market leadership. The Auto-Pools feature launched in April this year allows liquidity providers (LPs) to more easily adjust positions and compound yields. Additionally, the platform supports liquid staking for various Avalanche assets and is actively expanding to new chains like Arbitrum and BNB Chain, validating the viability of its unique liquidity book (LB) model.
As a result, Trader Joe's efforts provide a replicable success story for other platforms looking to establish themselves in the competitive DEX market.
The preferences for DEX among super users and new users are becoming increasingly aligned, but the trading activity distribution among super users remains more dispersed.
Unlike 2023, the top three most used DEXs by super users and new users on each observed chain are consistent. This suggests that new users have become more adept at mimicking the behaviors of experienced traders, or that leading DEXs have found more effective ways to optimize trading paths.
Despite this, super users' trading activity is still distributed across more DEXs, and compared to new users, they are more familiar with a wider range of DeFi protocols and are willing to explore opportunities outside mainstream platforms like Uniswap to pursue higher yields or unique trading conditions.
Looking Ahead: Opportunities and Challenges for Web3 in 2025
On-chain data shows that the number of Web3 users continued to grow in 2024, while traditional blockchains and emerging competitors face challenges in standing out in the market and providing attractive use cases for both new and existing users. Additionally, the rise in on-chain native token prices has not significantly driven diverse on-chain activity, and emerging DeFi protocols have encountered considerable resistance when challenging established giants.
Here are some key trends to look forward to in 2025:
Base has become a benchmark for ecosystem expansion.
In 2024, Base has become a model for attracting and retaining new users with its explosive user growth, providing a reference for other new blockchains looking to emerge. Base's success in memecoin trading and on-chain AI applications indicates that innovative use cases around popular areas will continue to drive user growth in 2025. However, how to convert these high-frequency trading activities into more lasting and diverse user engagement remains a significant challenge.
Ethereum's user growth brings new opportunities for L2 chains.
Although Ethereum's layer 2 networks (L2) typically have performance advantages, Ethereum maintains its central position in the Web3 economy due to its large user base and liquidity. L2 chains like Optimism may further adjust their strategies to attract the growing base of ordinary Ethereum users and guide them into their own chain ecosystems.
Differentiation or economies of scale are key to success.
Uniswap's market dominance is increasing, indicating that the DeFi market is showing a 'winner-takes-all' trend. However, chains like Avalanche and Polygon have proven that targeted innovation can secure a significant position in specific markets. For example, Trader Joe's Auto-Pools feature simplifies operations for liquidity providers, while Polygon's GameFi projects have attracted a large number of gamers. Looking ahead to 2025, protocols that can offer differentiated on-chain services that go beyond traditional DeFi functions are more likely to capture market attention.
The shift from user quantity to user quality.
With the continuous influx of new users, builders in the blockchain ecosystem need to find ways to encourage users to participate in more diverse activities, such as governance voting and staking, rather than just trading. As the number of wallets grows rapidly, chains that prioritize user quality and emphasize diverse participation will have an advantage in the long-term healthy development of the ecosystem.
5. Data-driven insights into user quality.
What are Flipside Scores?
As 2025 approaches, the Web3 industry faces a significant challenge: how to distinguish between short-term active phenomena and truly sustainable growth. While the surge in new users and transaction volume in 2024 brings optimism to the industry, the critical question is whether these users will remain in the long term and contribute to the long-term development of the blockchain ecosystem. Flipside Scores were designed to address this issue.
Flipside Scores quantify the quality of user on-chain activities by integrating 15 performance metrics (covering five categories). Unlike simple metrics based solely on trading volume, this approach provides a comprehensive reflection of the breadth and depth of user activity, revealing which ecosystems excel and where there is still room for improvement.
User quality trends across different chains.
Overall, in 2024, as the number of wallets and on-chain transaction volume surged, the user quality of various chains declined. This phenomenon reflects that the industry attracted a large number of new users who currently have low levels of participation, but are expected to gradually explore the diverse use cases offered by Web3 in the future.
Here are some key findings:
Base: One of the typical success stories in user growth for 2024. Although the chain has a low user quality score, this does not mean that Base's overall performance is poor. Instead, it indicates that its large new user base is currently concentrated primarily on a limited number of chain activities, and by guiding these users to engage in more diverse ecological activities, Base still has significant room for improvement.
ETH: The user quality saw a significant decline before the listing of multiple SEC-approved ETH ETFs. This suggests that while the entry of institutional funds can rapidly increase the number of wallets, a lack of sufficient incentive mechanisms and convenient pathways for participation (such as protocol governance) may hinder the depth of users' on-chain activities.
Blast: Successfully attracted users to actively engage in various chain activities during its early launch, showcasing its strong capability in incentivizing gamified activities. Although Blast's user growth has slowed in the fourth quarter of 2024, the remaining users remain active across multiple areas, indicating that this chain is poised to surpass its initial hype and achieve long-term development.
