Ethereum DApp Activity Poised for Growth Amid Rising Competition

According to Cointelegraph, decentralized application (DApp) activity on the Ethereum blockchain is on track to match or even surpass last year's levels, despite increasing competition from faster and cheaper alternatives. This insight comes from a report by blockchain analytics platform DappRadar, which highlights Ethereum's continued prominence in the Web3 space. The peak adoption of Ethereum occurred in 2021, coinciding with the last bull run, marking the year with the highest number of unique wallets and transactions on the network. However, activity cooled off in subsequent years. Despite this, 2023 and 2024 witnessed consistent engagement, driven by renewed interest in non-fungible tokens (NFTs), layer 2 ecosystems, and experimental decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols. DappRadar analyst Sara Gherghelas noted that 2025 is on track to match or surpass 2024, suggesting sustainable market momentum. Ethereum remains a cornerstone of Web3, particularly in high-value sectors like DeFi and NFTs. DappRadar has been tracking Ethereum for over a decade, recording more than 234 million unique active wallets interacting with DApps on the network. This activity is primarily driven by DeFi, followed by NFTs and gaming. The platform has also tracked over 452 million DApp-related transactions on Ethereum, with DeFi leading the way, followed by NFTs and gaming. These figures underscore Ethereum's role as a pioneering smart contract platform and a driving force for innovation and usage across the DApp ecosystem. In terms of market performance, some analysts believe Ethereum's price is poised for a breakout. This optimism is based on futures open interest reaching a record high of $58 billion and a 7.2% increase in network activity over the past 30 days. However, some caution remains due to the rising cost of borrowing wrapped Ether (wETH) and technical indicators suggesting potential overvaluation. Ethereum's price has fluctuated between $3,530 and $3,933 over the past week, currently trading at $3,862, reflecting a 5.8% increase. Additionally, more corporations are acquiring Ether as a treasury asset, with 2.73 million Ether held in 65 strategic reserves, representing 2.26% of the total supply and valued at $10.56 billion. Strategic Ether Reserves identifies BitMine as the largest Ether treasury firm, followed by SharpLink Gaming and The Ether Machine. David Grider, a partner at venture capital firm Finality Capital, remarked that the Ether treasury company boom could positively impact ETH flows and price action, akin to MicroStrategy's influence on Bitcoin.