New report shows 42% QoQ surge in stablecoin user activity

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A fresh industry report by QuickNode and Artemis highlights impressive growth across various blockchain sectors, particularly in stablecoins, decentralized finance (DeFi), and Web3 gaming. The findings reveal upticks in user engagement and technological adoption, pointing towards a strong expansion in these domains.

The report delves into the stablecoin sector’s remarkable 42% quarter-over-quarter spike in user activity. It points to various factors driving this surge, such as the green light for spot Bitcoin ETFs, Bitcoin halving, a shift away from hyperinflated fiat currencies, and a rebound in the DeFi sector. These crypto coins, tied to fiat currencies, now collectively make up over 41% of all daily active addresses in the blockchain realm.

The DeFi sector also reported a 291% increase in user activity from the previous quarter. Layer 2 networks like Arbitrum and Base are expanding rapidly with big increases in total value locked, which points to a growing interest in improving on-chain liquidity.

Moreover, Web3 gaming recorded decent gains, with a 155% rise in active addresses, highlighting its success in integrating blockchain technology to improve gaming experiences with new ownership and financial models.

The report also touches on the burgeoning sector of decentralized social platforms, which have shown a dramatic 425% increase in DAA quarter-over-quarter. These platforms are emerging as viable alternatives to traditional social media by offering users more control over their data and a bigger say in how the platform evolves.

The decentralized social scene is being driven by platforms like Farcaster, Lens, friend.tech, and Tomo. In the past, these decentralized social networks saw a burst of interest initially, but then a drop-off as their ‘exclusive and new’ novelty fades. However, recent trends show a gradual increase in active users after the initial spike, hinting at more sustained engagement and greater adoption in the long run.

Stablecoins have maintained their lead as the most active category in daily web3 user activity, overtaking DeFi since the first quarter of 2023. USDT (Tether) continues to dominate the market, holding roughly 75% of the total stablecoin market cap. In the first quarter of 2024, USDT’s market cap surpassed $100 billion, marking it as only the fifth crypto asset to achieve this milestone after Bitcoin, Ethereum, Binance Coin, and Ripple.

Interestingly, while USDT processed more than ten times the number of transactions compared to USDC, the latter recently overtook it in terms of volume and average transaction size. This is attributed to Coinbase’s efforts in the first quarter of 2024 to integrate USDC more deeply on their platform and promote its use on their Layer 2 network, Base, by subsidizing transaction fees.

Finally, the report highlights how the Solana-based platforms have surged in volume and activity, challenging Ethereum’s long-held dominance. During the first quarter of 2024, 

While OpenSea and Magic Eden have historically led the market in daily active NFT addresses and transaction counts, respectively, the latest data from the first quarter shows Tensor overtaking both in these key performance metrics. 

The surge in Solana marketplaces coincides with increasing excitement around Bitcoin ordinals, which have been making waves since their debut in January 2023. These Bitcoin blockchain-based assets, akin to NFTs, have not only gained immense popularity but have also been a boon for Bitcoin miners financially.