According to Flipside’s “New EVM Users: Q1 Snapshot” report, Ethereum and Polygon have maintained their dominance over newer Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) chains in attracting new users and increasing trading volumes in the first quarter of the year.
As of March 27, Ethereum welcomed 13.4 million new users, while Polygon saw 12.3 million, collectively representing around 70% of the total number of new EVM users in 2024 so far. In comparison, Arbitrum recorded 4.7 million new users during the same period.
While Ethereum’s mainnet remains historically dominant, Layer-2 protocols are processing a significant amount of data, with decentralized finance (DeFi) serving as a key attraction for new users. Ethereum led in trading volume, reaching $12 billion in Q1.
The report highlights a consistent upward trend in DeFi activity, contrasting with the previous year’s volatile swings, indicating growing interest and participation among newcomers in the blockchain space.
Arbitrum ranked second in terms of new user activity, with a $9.5 billion gain since the start of 2024, attributed to increased activity in Arbitrum’s DeFi ecosystem. Meanwhile, Polygon’s high new user numbers were driven by a surge in non-fungible token (NFT) activity.
Base saw a record 243,000 new users as of March 16, nearly eight times its new user base since January, thanks to Coinbase’s efforts to simplify cryptocurrency for beginners.
Although Ethereum boasts diverse decentralized application (dApp) adoption among newly registered users, Base exhibited the most evenly distributed app adoption among the analyzed chains, indicating reduced early protocol advantages and network effects.
Token swaps and bridging apps serve as common entry points for new users on EVM chains, with Uniswap and Orbiter Finance leading on Ethereum and Base, respectively.
NFT trading activity across EVM chains showed mixed results, with steady increases on Ethereum and Base, while declining significantly on Polygon from its early peaks, suggesting a potential shift away from NFT dominance in the market narrative.
The report also highlighted the influence of specific applications in directing user activity on different chains, such as Worldcoin attracting many new Optimism users, indicating long-term community interest in certain projects.
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