Dapp industry research report: What are the tracks and projects worth paying attention to?

Author: Sara Gherghelas, Dapp Radar; Compiled by: Deng Tong, Bitchain Vision

The number of Dapp users daily reached 24.6 million, of which 32% participated in DeFi, which is the most important industry this year

2024 is a year of change in the dapp industry, and ultimately pushing us to the brink of mainstream adoption.The year marks a significant step forward in regulation, with the European MiCA laying a solid foundation and Trump’s election in the U.S. laying the foundation for a new wave of institutional interest.Bitcoin’s record high marks the beginning of a highly anticipated bull market, injecting new vitality into the crypto space.

From various fields, DeFi has stolen the limelight and has become the most active category.It’s not just DeFi’s innovation that drives this trend – the memecoin narrative defines most of 2024 and brings additional impetus to DeFi.Meanwhile, NFTs have been trading and sales in their weakest year since 2020.Perhaps 2024 makes us realize that NFT doesn’t need to be expensive to demonstrate its importance in the broader Web3 ecosystem.

2024 is a year to lay the foundation for the future.Looking ahead to 2025, we hope the industry will mature further.Meanwhile, dive into this report to learn all the exciting developments, breakthroughs and narratives that have shaped the past year.

summary

• In 2024, the number of independent active wallets (UAWs) in the dapp industry grew by 485%, reaching an average of 24.6 million UAWs per day by the end of the year.

• The increase in activity in the “other” categories driven by AI dapps was 2,269%, highlighting the increasing importance of AI in the dapp ecosystem.

• DeFi’s activity grew 532%, with 7 million UAWs per day at the end of the year and dominated the market in the fourth quarter of 2024.

• New chains such as opBNB, Matchain and Base have made significant progress, with opBNB becoming the most used chain with 3.88 million dUAWs in 2024.

• DappRadar approved 5,138 new dapps in 2024, a 72% increase from 2023, with gaming and DeFi as the main categories.

• In 2024, DeFi’s total locked value (TVL) grew 211% to $214 billion, just 20% below its December 2021 peak.

• New chains such as Sui, Base and Aptos have gained attention, but Solana stands out, with TVL growing by 2,000%, becoming the second largest TVL chain after Ethereum.

• Compared to 2023, NFT transaction volume fell by 19% and sales volume fell by 18%, making 2024 one of the worst performers since 2020.

• Blur maintained its dominance in the NFT market, taking over the largest market share of volume for most of 2024, thanks to airdrop activity and zero-fee trading model.

• In 2024, the dapp industry suffered $1.3 billion in losses due to hacking and exploitation, down 31% from the previous year, the lowest amount since 2020.

Table of contents

• Industry-wide expansion: UAW’s record year of growth

• DeFi is close to all-time high: TVL hits $214 billion in 2024

• The worst performer in the NFT market since 2020

• A year when losses are reduced but threats last

• Conclusion

1. Industry-wide expansion: a record year for UAW growth

The dapp industry experienced amazing growth in 2024, with the only active wallet (UAW) growing by 485%.By the end of the year, this surge means an average daily UAW of 24.6 million.

The most significant increase occurred in the “other” category, with a significant increase in activity by 2,269%.This surge can be attributed to the rise of AI dapps, which led to the launch of dedicated AI dapp rankings on DappRadar.Initially, the “other” category was a general term for emerging or unclearly defined dapps, including early AI solutions.Over time, AI dapps gained significant appeal, demonstrating their potential for change and driving them into a separate category.

DeFi ranked second with a 532% activity growth, becoming the main category at the end of the year, with 7 million UAW per day and a market share of 32% in the fourth quarter of 2024.This is driven by memecoins and AI agent coins, which have caused a big sensation throughout the year.

Meanwhile, blockchain gaming ranks third with a growth of 421%.Although DeFi’s dominance fluctuated between 26-29% throughout the year, DeFi’s brilliance overshadowed the game in the first and fourth quarters of 2024.

Driven by airdrop narrative, the NFT industry grew 412%, while activity in the social industry (still rising) grew 70%.Despite the small increase, social dapps may get more attention in 2025.

Trading analysis reveals different situations.Social dapps have the highest transaction volume, up 455%, mainly due to the task platform, where users must complete on-chain or off-chain tasks to receive rewards.Game trading volume has dropped 16% since the beginning of the month, but has still achieved more than 5 billion deals this year.This shift may indicate that the game is moving more off-chain than on-chain.

DeFi has more than 8 billion transactions this year, up 66% from the previous year, and dominates 54% of the total transaction volume.This is consistent with the trend we have observed – meme trading, newly launched on-chain promise rewards missions, and a significant increase in trading activity last quarter as rumors about a new bull market began to attract attention.

Blockchain performance: Emerging stars and top blockchains in 2024

Among these chains, opBNB is the most used chain, leveraging Optimistic Rollup technology to enhance scalability and reduce transaction costs.Particle Network is the leading dapp on this chain.

Newcomers Matchain and Base also had success.Matchain rose as its best performer with LOL dapp, while Base hit an all-time high with $15.65 billion in Uniswap V3 trading volume in 30 days.

While the largest blockchains always steal the limelight, we also see a lot of growth in smaller ecosystems.Above we list the six blockchains with the largest increase in average daily independent active wallets.This list includes Oasys, Internet Computer, Core, WEMIX 3.0, and SKALE.Dapps such as video game app ChainArena on Oasys, social email platform Dmail Network on ICP and gaming platform Pixudi on Core contributed to these growth, reflecting the diverse growth of the ecosystem.

Define the DappRadar metrics for 2024

However, since DappRadar aims to be a global Dapp store, we decided to look at some metrics to see what the trend is this year and what we will see next year.DappRadar approved 5,138 dapps through its developer dashboard in 2024, a 72% increase from 2023, in line with the fact that we are seeing more and more dapps entering the mainstream this year.Games account for 31.1% of that, followed by DeFi, which accounted for 18.7%, highlighting their dominance as a major trend this year.

According to the page views of DappRadar,The top dapps in 2024 are mainly games.Their persistence in rankings highlights the strength and engagement of their communities.

2. DeFi is close to an all-time high: TVL reaches $214 billion in 2024

This year, the DeFi field has become the cornerstone of the dapp industry, as highlighted in Chapter 1.DeFi performed the best, with total lock-in value (TVL) up 211% to reach $214 billion by the end of 2024, just $47 billion less than its December 2021 peak.

Several key factors in the significant success of DeFi this year.first,The hype of Meme coins played an important role.The rise of Meme coins such as GOAT and PEPE has brought a surge in trading activity and liquidity to DeFi platforms, attracting the attention of traders and speculators.

In the second half of the year,The launch of artificial intelligence agents has brought a layer of change to the ecosystem.These AI-powered agents facilitate tasks such as transactions and governance, simplify operations and drive user engagement.This innovation may be further explored and expanded in 2025, positioning artificial intelligence as a core component of DeFi development.

at last,The Fed’s interest rate cut has rekindled interest in DeFi lending agreements.In a low interest rate environment, investors turned to platforms like Aave and Compound for higher returns, resulting in a significant increase in lending activity.

In addition, Bitcoin hit an all-time high of $108,000 in mid-December 2024 driven by major regulatory milestones.In January, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved several spot Bitcoin ETFs, including BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT).As of January 19, 2024, IBIT quickly became the first spot Bitcoin ETF with a transaction volume of more than $1 billion.On this basis, the SEC subsequently approved spot Ethereum ETFs, and Fidelity and other institutions also launched their own products.

Newer blockchains such as Sui, Base and Aptos have performed well over the year, launching several updates that have come to the spotlight.However,Solana stole the show, rebounding in the challenging 2023, achieving a staggering 2,000% growth for TVL, becoming TVL’s No. 2 blockchain.This recovery solidified Solana’s redemption arc and highlighted its resilience.

A lot has happened in 2024.The DeFi industry has firmly established itself as a force for financial change through innovation, institutional adoption and regulatory progress.

Key Trends Affecting DeFi in 2024

• Memecoins:In 2024, memecoins such as GOAT, PEPE and ShibaDoge reignited the interest of retail investors and promoted liquidity and activity on the DeFi platform.These highly speculative tokens often serve as a portal for users exploring DeFi for the first time.

• AI Agent:The rise of AI-driven agents has revolutionized DeFi by automating complex operations such as income farming, arbitrage, and governance voting.These agents improve efficiency, reduce human errors, and allow users to optimize returns with minimal effort.

• Tokenization of Real-World Assets (RWA):DeFi continues to connect traditional finance with decentralized systems to unlock new liquidity and investment opportunities through tokenized assets such as real estate and commodities.

• Layer2 Solution:Optimism, zkSync, Arbitrum, and Base gain greater appeal by addressing scalability and reducing transaction costs.

• Bitcoin Layer2 Solution:The development of the Bitcoin network has facilitated the creation of dapps on Bitcoin, extending its functionality beyond the store of value.

• Points and Airdrops:The project uses points systems and airdrops to inspire user engagement and promote community engagement and loyalty in the DeFi ecosystem.

• Sustainability:The DeFi platform uses environmentally friendly protocols that comply with ESG standards, attracting environmentally conscious investors.

• Cross-chain interoperability:Seamless transmission across networks extends the capabilities of DeFi.Interoperability solutions enable users to access various liquidity pools and decentralized services without being restricted by a single chain.

Regulatory development and institutional participation

In 2024, there has been significant changes in the regulatory environment, especially in the United States and Europe, where frameworks such as the EU Crypto Asset Market (MiCA) regulation provide much-needed clarity.While these regulations present challenges, they mark a critical step towards maturity and wider adoption in the industry.Institutional interest surged, and DeFi became more diversified through innovations in forecasting markets, lending and financial instruments.

The main effects of MiCA on cryptocurrencies:

• Establish clear rules for cryptocurrency business to ensure legal certainty.

• Strengthen consumer protection through stablecoin regulations.

• Require crypto service providers to obtain licenses for improved security.

• Solve market manipulation and insider trading issues and enhance trust.

• Promote global regulatory coordination and pave the way for wider adoption.

As DeFi enters 2025, the industry is expected to stabilize, with clearer regulation, further integration of risk-weighted assets, and technological advancements such as zero-knowledge proof will improve security and scalability.DeFi still promises to redefine global finance, providing transparent, inclusive and efficient services while connecting traditional and decentralized economies.

3. NFT market performance hits a new low since 2020

The NFT market in 2024 has experienced drastic volatility.At the beginning of the year, trading volume soared to about $5.3 billion in the first quarter, a 4% increase from the first quarter of 2023.However, this momentum was short-lived as trading volumes fell to $1.5 billion in the third quarter before rebounding to $2.6 billion in the fourth quarter.Despite these fluctuations, a closer look at NFT sales reveals a different story: sales volumes are lower than in 2023, highlightingNFTs are generally more expensive in 2024, consistent with the rise in token prices, especially ETH.

Calculated by yearNFT transaction volume fell 19% compared to 2023, and NFT sales fell 18%.This makes 2024 one of the worst year in transaction volume and sales performance since 2020.

Top NFT Collections: The Transformation of Dominance

Pudgy Penguins took the lead in terms of trading volume, but sales fell by 44%.Interestingly, their base price rose 114%, reflecting the impact of significant efforts made in 2024.They have launched plush toys at major retailers such as Walmart, Walgreens and Target throughout the United States, as well as Selfridges and Argos in the United Kingdom.In May 2024, they teamed up with Mythical Games to develop a blockchain mobile game designed to blend their popular Penguin characters with a high-quality gaming experience.In September 2024, Pudgy Penguins partnered with Spanish football club CD Castellón to become the first PFP NFT to appear on the professional football uniform.This reinforces the notion that NFTs with realistic utility continue to perform well.

Yuga Labs’ series, while still one of the largest trading series, has declined in dominance and FP has been severely affected.Despite the challenges, Yuga Labs has developed plans for 2025 to focus on its immersive metaverse platform, Otherside, and partnered with PP Man to launch new projects.This commitment to innovation may shape their future trajectory.

The gaming industry dominates NFT sales

In terms of sales, game-related NFTs obviously dominate.This trend reflects the growing adoption of NFTs in the gaming industry, which enables players to truly own in-game assets and promotes a player-driven economy.

Platform Performance: Blur and OpenSea

Speaking of the platform, Blur maintained its market dominance throughout 2024 (except for the third quarter).By the fourth quarter, Blur and OpenSea were comparable in market share.Blur’s success is driven by multiple airdrop activities and its zero-fee trading model, attracting cost-conscious traders.

OpenSea has had a challenging year.In August 2024, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) sent a Wells notice to OpenSea on concerns about unregistered securities.Coupled with market decline and fierce competition, OpenSea announced massive layoffs in November, reducing its workforce by 56%.The company is currently focusing on “OpenSea 2.0” to regain market share and revitalize its platform, while hinting at the possibility of token launches.

Meanwhile, Magic Eden outperforms OpenSea.Magic Eden initially focused on Solana, but later expanded to emerging networks including Ethereum, Polygon, Bitcoin, and Base and Arbitrum.On December 10, 2024, Magic Eden launched its native ME token and conducted a $700 million airdrop to enhance its ecosystem.

Wide ecosystem trends and future prospects

The use cases of the NFT ecosystem are diversified and have gained attention in real-world applications such as gaming, music, real estate and ticketing.Environmental issues have prompted the platform to adopt sustainable blockchain solutions, while layer 2 scaling solutions such as Polygon and zkSync improve transaction efficiency and reduce costs.Regulatory pressure highlights the need for clearer compliance standards and marks the market’s maturity.

Looking to the future,2025 is expected to be a year of integration and innovation.Mainstream adoption is likely to grow, thanks to improved user experience, broader practicality in areas such as supply chain management and digital identity, and a stronger secondary market.With technological advances such as regulatory clarity, artificial intelligence integration, and enhanced smart contracts, the NFT industry is expected to redefine digital ownership and continue to be the cornerstone of Web3.

4. A year when losses are reduced but threats last

In 2024, security challenges remain a major concern for the dapp industry.According to the REKT database, the industry suffered up to $1.3 billion in losses due to hacking and exploitation.While this figure is still quite considerable, it fell 31% from the previous year, the lowest loss since 2020.

The fourth quarter of 2024 was the quietest quarter of the year, with the least damage caused by hackers and vulnerabilities.By contrast, losses in other quarters have been hovering around the $400 million threshold, highlighting the continued vulnerability of the ecosystem.

Among the affected blockchains, Ethereum ranked first, accounting for 49.3% of the total losses, followed by BNB chain, accounting for 22.5%.Ethereum’s dominance in the DeFi ecosystem makes it the primary target of complex attacks such as Lightning loan vulnerabilities and reentry attacks.Its complex smart contracts, frequent escalation, and reliance on vulnerable cross-chain bridges further exacerbate the risks.

Access Control: The Most Common Attack Vector

Access control vulnerabilities have become the most common attack vector of 2024.This happens when an attacker exploits weaknesses in the system’s access control mechanism to obtain unauthorized access to resources, data, or functions.

Rugpulls also continues to plague the Web3 field, heightening suspicion and undermining trust in the ecosystem.Despite efforts to mitigate the impact of these deceptive behaviors, these deceptive behaviors remain an ongoing problem.

The greatest achievement of 2024

Among the most influential attacks of the year, the following events are particularly prominent:

• DMM Bitcoin CEX vulnerability: Centralized exchanges were hacked and lost $300 million.

• WazirX Indian Exchange Vulnerability: WazirX Major Vulnerability, Loss of $230 million.

• Ripple Co-founder Vulnerability: Hackers stole $112.5 million from Chris Larsen’s crypto assets.

• Munchables Funding Exhaust Vulnerability: The Munchables platform lost $62.5 million due to the vulnerability.

• Radiant Capital Vulnerability: A vulnerability targeting Radiant Capital caused $58 million in losses.

As the Web3 field continues to evolve, security challenges will remain a major issue.At DappRadar, we always recommend that users prioritize funding security by staying aware of potential scams and vulnerabilities.Use a trusted platform, enable multi-factor authentication and be cautious about those seemingly incredibly good deals.Staying alert is essential to safely navigating the evolving dapp ecosystem.

5. Conclusion

The 2024 Dapp Industry Report records the significant advancements, challenges and innovations of the blockchain ecosystem over the past year.From the explosive growth of DeFi and the rise of AI-driven Dapps to the volatility of the NFT market and the ongoing security war, the industry has shown resilience and adaptability.These developments highlight the great potential of Web3 to reshape the industry and create new opportunities.

As we enter 2025, the focus may shift to refine these innovations, achieve greater regulatory clarity and drive mass adoption.With advances in scalability solutions, enhanced security measures and wider use cases, the decentralization sector will usher in another groundbreaking year.