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Understanding Daily Active Users (DAUs) is crucial in the blockchain and cryptocurrency space, akin to assessing a conventional business’s customer base. High DAU counts indicate a thriving ecosystem, attracting developers and fostering innovation. In this article, we’ll explore the top blockchains of 2023 by DAUs, offering insights into blockchain technology’s success and its impact on the digital economy.
Daily Active Users: What Does It Mean?
The main point is that daily active users (DAUs) are a crucial metric for evaluating the health, adoption, and investment potential of a blockchain ecosystem. Similar to how social media platforms use DAUs to assess their performance, a high number of DAUs indicates the blockchain’s vitality and potential for growth. Additionally, a substantial user base enhances the security and decentralization of the blockchain network.
Top Blockchain With the Largest Daily Active Users:
Tron
Daily active users as of September 2023 were 1,637,200.
Tron, founded by Justin Sun in 2017 as an Ethereum alternative for the Asian market, is now the 10th largest blockchain with a market cap exceeding $7.5 billion. Initially compatible with Ethereum and employing the Delegated Proof of Stake (DPoS) consensus, Tron transitioned to its own chain in 2018.
As a host to thousands of dapps, Tron has emerged as a prominent player in the decentralized finance (DeFi) ecosystem, representing over 15% of the total value locked (TVL) in DeFi. Notably, Tron boasts the largest daily active user base, exceeding 1.7 million users, underscoring its ecosystem’s vibrancy, despite not directly impacting trading volume and revenue.
BNB Chain
It has a daily active user count of 1,095,483 as of September 2023.
BNB Chain (formerly BNB Smart Chain, or BSC), created by Binance, is a rapidly growing DeFi blockchain ecosystem. BNB, the native cryptocurrency, ranks as the fourth-largest crypto with a market cap exceeding $32 billion. Its market cap is largely attributed to its use of Binance for perks and fee discounts.
Binance Chain debuted in 2020, hosting BNB, while BSC emerged in 2021 to tap into DeFi’s growth. BSC is acclaimed for its user-friendly design, compatibility with the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM), and low fees. BSC later merged with Binance Chain, giving rise to today’s BNB Chain, which supports around 5,000 dapps, all within the same governance token ecosystem. The BNB Chain ecosystem contributes nearly 8% to the total value locked (TVL) in DeFi, with PancakeSwap as its most popular dapp.
Although BNB Chain previously reached over 2.1 million daily active users (DAUs) in October 2022, it currently stands at approximately 935,000 DAUs, marking a 20% decrease from the prior month. However, when excluding the temporary spike, the DAU figure has remained consistent year-on-year.
NEAR Protocol
This platform has a daily active user count of 706,407 as of September.
NEAR Protocol, a Proof of Stake (PoS) blockchain introduced in 2017, is distinguished by its strong emphasis on scalability and cost-efficiency. This remarkable scalability is made possible through innovative sharding architecture, dividing the network’s infrastructure into multiple segments to optimize transaction handling by participating nodes.
Despite hosting a relatively modest number of dapps, approximately 200, NEAR Protocol experienced a sudden surge in its Daily Active Users (DAU) metric at the end of August, catapulting it into the ranks of highly utilized networks. The precise cause of this significant uptick remains uncertain, with speculation centered on undisclosed deals and partnerships. NEAR’s DAU figure now stands at around 700,000, marking a sevenfold increase from a year ago. Currently ranked as the 40th largest cryptocurrency with a market cap of $1 billion, NEAR’s DAU growth has not yet correlated with its market cap, potentially foreshadowing a future price increase driven by increased fees and revenue.
This divergence is notable when compared to larger networks like Tron and BNB Chain, positioning NEAR for potential growth in the near future.
Ethereum
It has a daily active user count of 336,186.
Ethereum, the pioneering blockchain network for smart contracts, was launched in 2014 with the aim of enhancing scalability and expanding functionality through dapps. Presently, Ethereum boasts a substantial market capitalization of $191 billion, making it the second-largest cryptocurrency, trailing only behind Bitcoin.
Ethereum’s supremacy in the realm of DeFi has been notable, commanding over 50% of the total value locked (TVL) in DeFi. However, signs of eroding dominance have emerged, particularly in terms of user engagement, as other chains like Tron and BNB gain ground.
Despite its longstanding prominence, Ethereum’s Daily Active User (DAU) figures have remained relatively stable, hovering within the 300,000 to 400,000 range over the past year. While occasional spikes above 1 million DAUs have occurred, they are infrequent. Due to Ethereum’s substantial and highly liquid ecosystem, its DAU figure no longer aligns closely with other performance metrics.
Bitcoin
As of September, it had 720,355 daily active users.
Bitcoin, the largest and most established cryptocurrency, was launched in late 2009 and represents the pioneering use case of blockchain technology. Despite its decentralized nature, Bitcoin’s architecture lacks support for smart contracts and dapp development. Originally conceived as a decentralized peer-to-peer money system, Bitcoin has evolved into a widely recognized store of value (SOV).
While Bitcoin itself doesn’t accommodate dapps, it remains highly active within the crypto market. Daily Active Users (DAUs) for Bitcoin have exceeded 750,000, witnessing a year-on-year increase of over 100,000, according to TokenTerminal and BitInfoCharts. Interestingly, Bitcoin’s DAU figure has shown little correlation with other metrics, maintaining a relatively consistent trend over the last three years, even as its price and trading volume fluctuate significantly.
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