Flipside states that Ethereum and Polygon dominate EVM user growth and trading activity during the first quarter.
The “New EVM Users: Q1 Snapshot” report by Flipside has revealed that Ethereum and Polygon continue to lead in attracting new users and increasing trading volumes compared to newer Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) chains.
As of March 27, Ethereum had gained 13.4 million new users, while Polygon had gained 12.3 million, accounting for around 70% of the total number of new EVM users this year. In contrast, Arbitrum had added 4.7 million users since the beginning of 2024.
While Ethereum’s mainnet maintains its historical dominance, Layer-2 protocols are processing more data. Decentralized finance (defi) remains the main attraction for new users, with Ethereum leading in trading volume at $12 billion in Q1.
The report also highlighted the growing interest and participation in defi among newcomers in the blockchain space, with a steady increase in defi activity compared to the previous year’s volatile swings.
Arbitrum ranked second on the list, with a $9.5 billion gain since the beginning of 2024. This milestone is attributed to increased new user activity in Arbitrum’s defi space. Polygon’s high new user numbers, on the other hand, are attributed to an increase in non-fungible token (NFT) activity.
Base, a relatively new chain, has seen significant growth in its new user base since January, with a record 243,000 new users as of March 16. This growth is attributed to Coinbase’s efforts to simplify cryptocurrency for newcomers.
Although Ethereum has a large number of new users, the report found that Base had the most evenly distributed app adoption among the six analyzed chains. This indicates that Base’s newness prevented early protocols from gaining a first mover advantage and consolidating users around a single app.
Token swaps and bridging apps are the most common entry points for new users on EVM chains, with Uniswap and Orbiter Finance leading the way on Ethereum and Base, respectively.
The report also highlighted the mixed picture of NFT trading activity across EVM chains. While new user NFT trading on Ethereum and Base increased steadily, it declined significantly on Polygon. This suggests that NFTs may not continue to dominate the market narrative in the upcoming cycle as they had in the past.
Additionally, the report emphasized the role of specific applications in directing user activity on different chains. For example, many new Optimism users were attracted to Worldcoin (WLD), indicating a long-term community interest in certain projects.
Overall, the report provides valuable insights into the growth and trends of new users on EVM chains, highlighting the dominance of Ethereum and Polygon and the potential for other chains to gain traction in specific areas such as defi and NFTs.
