May DApp Industry Insights: Growth Across DeFi, NFT, AI, and Security
Daily Unique Active Wallets (dUAW): In May, dUAW reached 25 million, an 8% month-on-month increase, reflecting a sustained rise in overall user activity within the DApp sector.
DeFi: Total value locked (TVL) grew by 25% to $200 billion, primarily driven by a 40% surge in Ethereum’s price and Hyperliquid’s $244 billion in trading volume.
NFT Market: NFT trading volume increased by 40% month-on-month, reaching $280 million, with transaction count up 35%. The main drivers were Ethereum, Abstract, and Telegram-related domain NFTs.
AI DApps: Daily active wallets reached 4.8 million, a 23% increase, with user activity now on par with DeFi and gaming sectors.
Social DApps: Recorded 4.3 million daily active wallets, up 21%, while NFT DApps reached 3.9 million, up 9%.
Security Incidents: Web3 security incidents in May resulted in losses of up to $275 million, the third-highest in a year, with a single vulnerability in the Cetus protocol causing $260 million in losses.
Ethereum Upgrade: The Ethereum Pectra upgrade introduced account abstraction and raised the validator reward cap, advancing infrastructure development.
Industry Developments: Apple removed the 30% fee on in-app NFT transactions for iOS, OpenSea launched the OS2 multi-chain marketplace, FIFA migrated its NFT platform to an EVM-compatible chain, and trading volumes on real-world asset tokenization platforms continued to grow.
Data Insights and Conclusions
DApp Industry Recovery: May marked a multidimensional recovery for the DApp industry, with significant growth in user activity, DeFi capital, and both NFT and AI sectors, indicating ongoing improvements in ecosystem health.
Balanced User Participation: User participation is becoming more balanced, with AI, DeFi, gaming, and social DApps jointly driving industry growth, reducing reliance on single-category hype.
DeFi Recovery: DeFi’s recovery is evident, with infrastructure upgrades and favorable policies attracting capital inflows, while decentralized derivatives protocols intensify competition with centralized exchanges.
NFT Market Rebound: NFT market trading volumes rebounded, with improved utility and accessibility. While short-term volatility is still driven by incentive mechanisms, infrastructure optimization and major platform innovation are laying the foundation for sustained long-term growth.
AI’s Web3 Integration: AI’s integration into Web3 is deepening, with both users and the market showing increasing demand for decentralized intelligence. AI DApp user activity is now on par with traditional leading sectors.
Security Risks: Despite frequent security incidents and significant single-event losses, there remains a need to further strengthen industry risk awareness and governance standards.
Shift Toward Utility and Innovation: The industry is shifting from hype-driven to utility- and innovation-driven growth, with the DApp ecosystem entering a new phase characterized by solid foundations, diverse structure, and greater resilience.
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