Decentralized finance (DeFi) continues to cement its status as a powerful force in the blockchain space, by continually recording remarkable growth in transaction volume and activity during the first quarter of 2024. According to the most recent insights from the OnChain Report Q1 2024, generated by QuickNode and Artemis, DeFi is the most dominant force in the crypto market, even surpassing stablecoins in daily transaction volumes. The sector recorded a remarkable 7 million daily transactions during the first three months of this year.
This marks a major milestone for DeFi. Importantly, all main DeFi protocol categories, including Liquid Staking and Lending, Bridges, Yield, and Derivatives, have seen an increase in total value locked (TVL). In fact, TVL has doubled or even tripled in the first quarter of 2024.
According to the research, the first quarter saw the start of “DeFi Summer part 2,” with a startling 291% rise in user activity from the previous quarter. Despite legal difficulties from the SEC, this revival has spurred confidence and a strategic shift in the DeFi environment.
Asset Price Appreciation Propels Growth
Ether’s total value of assets (TVL) increased by around 71% compared to its previous level, primarily due to asset price gain and liquid restaking. Since the beginning, two protocols that have been crucial to the resurgence of DeFi TVL are Lido and EigenLayer. TVL’s liquid stake reached an all-time high of $63 billion on March 13.
The Ethereum liquid staking protocol Lido, which currently holds a 62% market share in the liquid staking ecosystem, was a major factor in this outcome. Furthermore, in the initial quarter of 2024, EigenLayer, a liquidity restaking protocol, experienced a notable surge in usage and popularity.
At the end of the quarter, EigenLayer’s TVL represented a remarkable 990% increase in value, totaling $12 billion. EigenLayer allows Ethereum to be staked multiple times, offering higher profits.
Apart from the liquid restaking operations, user participation was also a major factor in DeFi TVL’s growth. Users have for long anticipated a second “DeFi Summer” indicated by QuickNode registering a notable 29.1% rise in user activity in the most recent quarter compared to the prior one. Although the SEC has made efforts to govern the decentralized finance space, there are signs that growth and a paradigm shift are imminent.
Web3 Gaming On the Rise in Q1 2024
Web3 gaming has picked up from where it left at the end of last year and accelerated its growth trajectory, evidenced by increased activity across multiple gaming platforms. Similar to DeFi, Web3 gaming also outperformed stablecoins in terms of transaction volume and is now the category with the fastest annual growth. The industry has seen a 155% QoQ increase in active addresses, which is proof of Web3’s ability to draw in and keep players and suggests a notable increase in player involvement.
This sharp rise has propelled gaming to take a huge chunk of the Web3 market and become a contender of the leading use case for blockchain applications this year. With a 30% market share of the industry and an average of 2.1 million unique active wallets every day, blockchain gaming cemented its place in the Web3 area.
A deeper look into Web3 gaming metrics reveals some refreshing details and points to the direction the industry is headed in 2024. Polygon has solidified its position as the leading gaming blockchain, with more than 1.1 million new daily wallets—a remarkable increase of 429% from the previous quarter.
Alien Worlds on the Wax blockchain continues to dominate the gaming scene with the highest number of unique active wallets, attracting an impressive 9.6 million wallets this quarter. Within the in-game NFT market, Axie Infinity emerged top with a trading volume of $181 million, surpassing all other gaming dapps.
Despite these positive indications, blockchain gaming saw a decrease in investments in Q1 2024, receiving $288 million, down by 57% from the previous quarter. Notwithstanding, the sector continues to show great promise and based on the performances in Q1, the investments are due to follow down the line.
Conclusion
In the first quarter of 2024, the blockchain sector saw the rapid rise of Web3 gaming and the sustained supremacy of DeFi. DeFi hit a major milestone during the period, with 7 million daily transactions and a noteworthy rise in total value locked (TVL). DeFi also saw a comeback despite legislative obstacles thanks to user involvement and tactical changes. Similarly, Web3 gaming outperformed stablecoins, as evidenced by a 155% rise in active addresses, which suggests high player involvement. Despite a decline in funding, blockchain gaming’s encouraging performance points to a hopeful future. All things considered, the directions taken by DeFi and Web3 gaming highlight how important a role they will play in determining the blockchain scene in 2024 and beyond.
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