Ethereum and its Layer 2 scaling solution, Polygon, attracted the most new users by far in the first quarter of 2024.
The latest report by Flipside revealed that these two blockchain platforms have garnered the most cumulative new users among observed EVM chains since the beginning of the year.
Polygon boasted 12.3 million new users, and Ethereum had 13.4 million – roughly 70% of new users this year across all observed chains as of March 27. Next up was Arbitrum, recording the most new users (4.7 million) during the same period.
Taking into account Ethereum and Polygon’s extensive history compared to most EVM chains, it’s not surprising that they hold significant dominance. In relative terms, the growth in new user volume for Ethereum and Polygon was only 298.3% and 359.7%, respectively, between January and March 2024, which places them in the middle of the pack among all observed chains, Flipside said in its report.
DeFi – Main Driver of New User Growth
DeFi has emerged as the primary catalyst for new user expansion across various chains this year. Among all monitored EVM chains, DeFi trade volume has surged since the beginning of the 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. In fact, March proved to be the most active trading period across all observed chains.
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 stands in stark contrast to the erratic market fluctuations experienced throughout much of 2023.
Although Arbitrum lagged significantly behind Ethereum and Polygon in acquiring new users, it managed to secure a strong second position in terms of new user trading volume, amassing $9.5 billion since the start of 2024. This difference in performance was attributed to Polygon’s high NFT trading volume this year, which hit a daily peak of $6.3 million in early January, compared to Arbitrum’s lower daily high of $229,000 in mid-February.
New User Growth Shows Mixed Results in NFT
New users’ engagement in NFT activity has shown “mixed” patterns, with the two largest chains experiencing contrasting trends. In comparison to DeFi, the growth of new users based on NFT activity has displayed greater volatility depending on the network.
While Polygon’s new user NFT trading activity has consistently decreased since the start of the year, activity on Ethereum and Base, on the other hand, has steadily risen. Across all other chains, NFT trading has fluctuated from week to week without any clear pattern.
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.