According to CryptoPotato, Ethereum and its Layer 2 scaling solution, Polygon, have attracted the most new users in the first quarter of 2024. The two blockchain platforms have seen the highest cumulative new users among observed EVM chains since the start of the year. Polygon has gained 12.3 million new users, while Ethereum has added 13.4 million. This accounts for approximately 70% of new users across all observed chains as of March 27. Arbitrum followed with 4.7 million new users during the same period.

Despite Ethereum and Polygon's extensive history compared to most EVM chains, their growth in new user volume was only 298.3% and 359.7%, respectively, between January and March 2024. This places them in the middle of the pack among all observed chains. DeFi has been the primary catalyst for new user expansion across various chains this year. Ethereum leads with a cumulative $1 billion in trade volume, with its busiest trading day recorded on March 5, when figures exceeded $428 million.

While DeFi trading activity on Optimism and Arbitrum experienced slight declines in the past week, overall, DeFi activity has displayed a consistent upward trajectory. This contrasts with the erratic market fluctuations experienced throughout much of 2023. Despite lagging significantly behind Ethereum and Polygon in acquiring new users, Arbitrum secured a strong second position in terms of new user trading volume, amassing $9.5 billion since the start of 2024.

New users’ engagement in NFT activity has shown mixed patterns, with the two largest chains experiencing contrasting trends. While Polygon’s new user NFT trading activity has consistently decreased since the start of the year, activity on Ethereum and Base has steadily risen. Ethereum and Polygon have maintained the highest USD volume of NFT transactions since the beginning of the year. Ethereum’s daily volume has remained consistently above $1 million since January 1st, whereas Polygon’s peaked in early January at over $6 million before declining to less than $500,000.