**2024: A Critical Turning Point for Web3 User Growth, With Major Public Chains Reaching New Heights in User Acquisition**
This article, based on Flipside data, explores the trends in on-chain user growth and reveals how to achieve sustainable ecosystem engagement amid short-term surges. The report is sourced from Flipside and compiled by Shenchao TechFlow.
**(Background: Web3 Report: Emerging Markets Accelerate the Rise of Cryptocurrencies, Meme Coins Ignite Global Investment Heat)**
**(Context: 2024 Global Crypto Developer Report: Annual Growth of 39%, Asia Surpasses North America in Developer Share)**
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### 1. Introduction: On-Chain User Trends Towards 2025
The year 2024 marks a turning point in Web3 user growth, with major public chains achieving record-high user and super-user acquisitions. Chains like Base have redefined what exponential growth looks like, while Ethereum and its Layer 2 solutions have demonstrated how deeply entrenched ecosystems can adapt to evolving user demands.
However, a deeper dive into the data reveals that not all growth holds the same value—highlighting the importance of assessing not just the quantity, but also the quality of on-chain activity.
Thus, this report, based on Flipside’s 2024 real-time data on on-chain crypto users, evaluates cryptocurrency activity this year using actionable multi-variable metrics, providing a new way to assess the health of on-chain users heading into 2025.
#### Summary
Behind the headlines of user growth lies a deeper challenge: How to build ecosystems that create meaningful, long-term engagement, rather than merely benefiting from transient speculative behavior. In short, most blockchains are still in their early stages of converting ordinary users into high-value contributors.
#### User Acquisition Insights:
– **Base**: In October 2024, Base recorded a new high of 19.4 million acquired users, with Base contributing 13.7 million users—nearly eight times more than the second-place Polygon.
– **BTC**: Bitcoin’s price surged to an all-time high, surpassing $100,000, yet its new user acquisition grew only by 935,900 users monthly, indicating that most activity was driven by existing users engaging in speculative actions rather than the influx of new users.
– **ETH**: Ethereum’s monthly new user acquisition reached 1.56 million, surpassing Arbitrum and Optimism, with a 33.4% month-over-month growth in March. Notably, Arbitrum hit a peak of 3.3 million new users in May.
#### Super User Insights:
– **Base**: Attracted 15.1 million wallets that executed over 100 DeFi transactions, 38.4% more than Ethereum’s 10.7 million super users.
– **ETH**: With 10.9 million DeFi-related super users, Ethereum outperformed Arbitrum (6.2 million) and Optimism (1.8 million), highlighting its dominance in liquidity and convenience.
– **Polygon**: Saw the addition of 1.5 million super users in 2024, with a total of 867.7 million super-user transactions, emphasizing its success in areas outside DeFi.
#### DEX Usage Insights:
– **Uniswap**: Expanded its dominance on major public chains, capturing 91.3% of new DEX activity on Base, with a 27.72% increase in market share compared to 2023 on Ethereum.
– Despite Uniswap’s growth, **Trader Joe** retained its lead on Avalanche, reaching a 61.1% market share, a 6.1% increase from 2023.
– Unlike in 2023, the top three DEXs in terms of user acquisition and super-user growth on all observed public chains remained consistent in 2024.
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### 2. New User Acquisition
In October 2024, the number of new users reached a monthly peak of 19.4 million.
User growth on the blockchain was led by Base, which contributed 13.7 million new users—almost eight times the amount of the second-place Polygon. Overall, 2024 has been an impressive year for blockchain user growth, with numbers consistently rising throughout the year, except for a slight pullback in August.
Note: “New users” are defined as those who made at least two transactions on a blockchain, with the second transaction occurring in 2024.
This sustained growth could be driven by increased institutional acceptance of cryptocurrencies, seen in the early announcement of BTC and ETH ETFs this year. Other exciting developments in the first half of 2024 may have fueled optimism, such as Grayscale listing several new cryptocurrencies as “assets under consideration” and the U.S. Federal Reserve cutting interest rates by 50 basis points during the September FOMC meeting—its first rate cut in four years.
#### Base’s Remarkable Growth
Base began 2024 slowly but saw a staggering 56-fold increase in monthly new user acquisitions since January.
In January, Base had only 244,700 new users, but by November, the chain had achieved a 56-fold increase in monthly new users, with an average of 4.7 million new users acquired each month in 2024. This growth was heavily influenced by Coinbase’s vast user base, which manages around $130 billion in assets. Popular DeFi protocols like Aerodrome may have also 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).
#### Bitcoin’s Performance
Despite BTC’s all-time high, 2024 did not witness a large influx of new users.
Bitcoin’s new user acquisition remained relatively steady in 2024, even though BTC’s value saw significant appreciation. Overall, Bitcoin’s monthly new user growth in 2024 was 935,900, ranking third from the bottom among the seven major public chains observed in this report.
This indicates that the price increase of Bitcoin was primarily driven by the enthusiasm and speculative activities of its existing user base, rather than a significant influx of new users.
In March 2024, BTC’s first major price spike coincided with a 19.2% month-over-month user growth, but in November, during the continued price rally, when BTC reached the long-awaited $100,000 milestone, user acquisition actually decreased by 28.5%.
#### Ethereum and L2 Performance
Ethereum’s user acquisition outpaced that of its leading Layer 2 (L2) solutions, though Arbitrum saw impressive single-month growth.
In 2024, Ethereum’s growth surpassed its two leading L2 chains, with an average of 1.56 million new users per month, compared to 1.2 million for Arbitrum and 348,800 for Optimism. Excluding December, Ethereum saw only four months of month-over-month declines, reaching a peak of 1.9 million new users in March, representing a 33.4% month-over-month growth.
Both Arbitrum and Optimism started the year with strong momentum, reaching their respective peaks in April and May 2024. However, user growth in the remainder of the year declined.
Notably, Arbitrum’s peak of 3.3 million new users in May surpassed Ethereum’s single-month peak in 2024. Throughout the year, Arbitrum consistently outpaced Optimism in new user growth, thanks to the success of its Arbitrum One initiative and the integration of GameFi and SocialFi expansion suites. With 169 builder grants approved in the first half of 2024, along with many behind-the-scenes developments, it remains to be seen if Arbitrum can regain its position as the leading global EVM L2 chain.
#### Performance of New Public Chains in 2024
Among the newly launched public chains in 2024, **Aleo** achieved the highest average user acquisition growth, while **Blast** initially set a single-month record before gradually fading.
Among the newly launched chains, Aleo saw the highest growth in new user acquisition, with an average of 175,200 new users per month, followed by Blast at 134,900 and Sei at 90,700. This could be attributed to Blast’s sharp decline in user acquisition since July, and Sei’s slow start—although its mainnet launched months ago, it only reached its peak of 324,500 new users in October.
It remains unclear whether these chains will regain growth momentum in 2025—particularly considering that Base also experienced a post-launch cool-down period before its significant spike in 2024. Among the four new chains tracked, **Lava** has been overshadowed by competitors, and while **Blast** achieved the highest single-month new user growth for a newly launched chain in June, it still has a long way to go in terms of catching up.
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### 3. Super Users
As of December 2024, **Base** has the highest number of DeFi-related super users, with 15.1 million wallets executing 100 or more transactions.
In addition to attracting the most new users, Base also garnered the highest number of DeFi-related super users, with 15.1 million wallets executing over 100 transactions—38.4% more than Ethereum’s 10.7 million super users. Following Ethereum are Polygon’s 7 million super users.
Note: “Super users” are defined as users who have executed at least 100 transactions on a particular chain, regardless of when the associated wallet was created or the last transaction occurred.
Given Base’s explosive growth this year, its impressive super-user count is likely unsurprising. This success is likely due to Base’s dominance in several popular areas this year, surpassing many traditional public chains, including but not limited to meme coins and NFT trading.
On the otherSuper users continue to shine in non-DeFi related activities.
Polygon has attracted 1.5 million new super users in 2024 so far – almost double the number of Base, the second-ranked chain.
Polygon’s super user activity has also surpassed all other observed public chains, with a monthly average of 867.7 million super user transactions this year. Besides Base’s impressive 786.3 million super user transactions, Arbitrum has also shown strong performance in 2024, reaching 365.3 million super user transactions.
Polygon’s outstanding performance has continued its long-standing leading position in super user activity since 2021. In 2021, Polygon’s transaction volume reached 1.14 billion, setting a record high for super user activity among all blockchains and still holding to this day.
However, despite having the highest super user activity volume among all blockchains, Polygon ranks third in the number of super user wallets related to DeFi (decentralized finance). This indicates that Polygon has successfully attracted a large number of high-frequency trading users through GameFi (gaming finance) and other application scenarios, not just relying on DeFi applications.
Ethereum has a higher number of super users in the DeFi field than the total of Arbitrum and Optimism.
As of 2024, Ethereum has reached 10.9 million super users in the DeFi field, second only to Base. This number is significantly higher than the total of Arbitrum (6.2 million) and Optimism (1.8 million).
Although EVM L2 (Ethereum Virtual Machine compatible Layer 2 networks) generally have faster speeds and lower transaction costs, many users may still find asset cross-chain bridging too complex or risky, or may prefer to use the Ethereum mainnet due to its deeper liquidity and more mature market position.
However, Ethereum’s Layer 2 networks need to explore more ways to attract users beyond relying solely on their performance advantages over the Ethereum mainnet.
DEX users
Uniswap continues to expand market share on major blockchains, further solidifying its position as the leader in the decentralized exchange (DEX) field.
Uniswap remains undisputedly the top DEX in all observed chains, except for Avalanche and Blast chains. Especially on the Base chain, Uniswap’s user share surged from 36.8% to 91.3%. Considering the exponential growth of Base chain users this year, this achievement is particularly remarkable.
Similarly, Uniswap’s performance on other major chains has also improved. Compared to 2023, its share of DEX activity on Ethereum increased by 27.72%, and on Polygon by 12.57%. It is worth noting that Polygon’s DEX activity has been more diversified, with its user group’s trading behavior more varied compared to other leading chains.
Even without considering Uniswap’s protocol upgrades, this phenomenon may reflect the trend of “winner takes all” in the DeFi market, where larger platforms occupy a larger market share due to their deep liquidity and brand recognition.
On Avalanche, Trader Joe has further solidified its leading position, while Uniswap’s ranking has also improved.
Uniswap is currently the second most popular DEX on Avalanche, where it did not even make it to the top five in 2023. However, Trader Joe remains the most popular DEX on Avalanche, occupying 61.1% of the market share, with its market share increasing by about 6% since 2023.
As the first major DEX built natively on Avalanche, Trader Joe has been committed to maintaining and expanding its market leadership. The Auto-Pools feature launched in April this year makes it easier for liquidity providers (LPs) to automatically adjust positions and compound earnings. Additionally, the platform supports liquidity staking for various Avalanche assets and actively expands to new chains like Arbitrum and BNB Chain, validating the feasibility of its unique Liquidity Book (LB) model.
Looking at the results, Trader Joe’s efforts provide a successful case study for other platforms looking to establish themselves in the competitive DEX market.
The preferences of super users and new users in DEX are becoming more aligned, but the trading activities of super users are still more diversified.
Unlike in 2023, the top three DEX platforms used by super users and new users are consistent on each observed chain. This indicates that new users are becoming more adept at imitating experienced traders’ behavior, or leading DEX platforms have found more efficient ways to optimize trading paths.
However, the trading activities of super users are still spread across more DEX platforms compared to new users. They are more familiar with a wider range of DeFi protocols and are willing to explore opportunities beyond mainstream platforms like Uniswap to pursue higher returns or unique trading conditions.
Future Outlook: Opportunities and Challenges of Web3 in 2025
Data shows that the number of Web3 users continued to grow in 2024, while traditional blockchains and emerging competitors face the challenge of standing out in the market and providing attractive application scenarios for new and existing users. Additionally, the significant rise in native token prices has not significantly driven diversified on-chain activities, and emerging DeFi protocols face resistance when challenging established giants.
Here are some key trends to look out for in 2025:
Base becomes a benchmark for ecosystem expansion
In 2024, Base set a paradigm for attracting and retaining new users with its explosive user growth, providing a model for other emerging blockchains looking to make their mark. 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, transforming these high-frequency trading activities into more sustainable and diversified user engagement remains a significant challenge.
Ethereum user growth brings new opportunities for L2 chains
Despite the performance advantages of Ethereum’s Layer 2 networks in terms of efficiency, Ethereum still maintains a 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 continuously growing ordinary Ethereum users and guide them into their own on-chain ecosystem.
Differentiation or economies of scale are key to success
Uniswap’s market dominance is strengthening, indicating a trend of “winner takes all” in the DeFi market. However, chains like Avalanche and Polygon have proven that targeted innovation can secure significant positions in specific markets. For example, the Auto-Pools feature introduced by Trader Joe simplifies operations for liquidity providers, while Polygon’s GameFi projects attract a large number of gamers. Looking ahead to 2025, protocols that can provide differentiated on-chain services and go beyond traditional DeFi functions are more likely to attract market attention.
Transition from user quantity to user quality
As new users continue to enter the blockchain ecosystem, builders need to find ways to incentivize users to participate in more diverse activities, such as governance voting and staking, rather than just trading. With the rapid growth in the number of wallets, chains that prioritize user quality and focus on diversified engagement will have an advantage in the long-term development of the ecosystem.
Data-driven insights into user quality
What are Flipside Scores?
As 2025 approaches, the Web3 industry faces a crucial challenge: distinguishing between short-term active phenomena and truly sustainable growth.
While the surge in new users and transaction volumes in 2024 has brought optimism to the industry, the key question is whether these users will stay long-term and contribute to the long-term development of the blockchain ecosystem. Flipside Scores are designed to address this issue.
By integrating 15 performance indicators (covering five categories), Flipside Scores quantify the quality of user on-chain activities. Unlike simple metrics based solely on transaction volume, this approach can comprehensively reflect the breadth and depth of user activities, revealing which ecosystems excel and where there is room for improvement.
Trends in user quality across different chains
Overall, in 2024, with the increase in wallet numbers and on-chain transaction volumes, the user quality on each chain has declined. This phenomenon reflects the industry attracting a large number of new users, who currently have lower levels of engagement but are expected to gradually explore the diverse use cases Web3 offers in the future.
Here are some key findings:
Base: A typical success story in user growth in 2024. While the chain’s user quality score is lower, it does not mean that Base’s overall performance is poor. On the contrary, it indicates that its vast new user base is currently primarily focused on a few on-chain activities, and there is significant room for improvement by guiding these users to participate in a more diverse ecosystem.
ETH: Before the listing of several SEC-approved ETH ETFs, there was a significant decline in user quality. This suggests that while institutional funds can drive rapid growth in wallet numbers, if there is a lack of sufficient incentive mechanisms and convenient participation pathways (such as protocol governance), the depth of user on-chain activities may be challenging to enhance.
Blast: Initially successful in attracting users to actively participate across multiple chains, Blast demonstrated its strong capabilities in incentivizing gamified activities. Although user growth on Blast slowed down in the fourth quarter of 2024, remaining users remain active in multiple areas, indicating that the chain is poised to surpass its initial hype and achieve long-term development.