Stablecoin activity exceeds that of DeFi in Q3, with more than 400,000 active addresses

Many expect this dominance to continue as major payment companies, like Visa and PayPal, embrace stablecoins as web3 onramps.

Cover art/illustration via CryptoSlate. Image includes combined content which may include AI-generated content.

Stablecoins emerged as the most popular crypto sector during the third quarter, with daily active addresses of more than 400,000, outpacing other categories like DeFi, gaming, and NFTs, according to an on-chain report published by QuickNode in collaboration with Artemis, a blockchain analytics platform.

The report revealed that stablecoins active addresses grew by 45% between the first and third quarters, while its transactions increased by 41% during the same period.

On the other hand, DeFi’s daily active addresses and transactions recorded steep declines. For context, the daily average transaction on DeFi protocols plunged from more than 1 million addresses in the first quarter to 786,000 by the third quarter.

A closer look at the report reveals that Tether’s USDT is driving stablecoin’s dominance as it is leading others in terms of market capitalization, active addresses, and transactions. However, it still lags behind rival USDC regarding on-chain volume, which witnessed its volume drop by 62% following exposure to the US banking crisis in March.

Stablecoins’ dominance was cemented in July when its transactions overtook that of DeFi protocols across the monitored blockchain networks, including Ethereum, Arbitrum, Polygon, Optimism, and others.

Why stablecoins are growing

Stablecoin’s growth in these metrics was attributed to the inherent stability and value predictability that it offers. According to QuickNode, this makes them an attractive entry point for both new and seasoned users.

Besides that, the entrance of major payment companies like Visa and PayPal into the space suggests that the trend will continue.

“These corporations entering the space are not only an endorsement of the technology but also facilitate the bridge between the traditional finance world and decentralized finance.”

DeFi and Social

In the DeFi sector, Uniswap was the only protocol with notable growth since the first quarter. On-chain data shows that the decentralized exchange’s average daily addresses grew by about 15% while its transaction count jumped by 33% during the same period.

Across decentralized social networks, Friend.Tech, a Web3 social platform on layer2 network Base, is the dominant player. It recorded single-day peaks of more than 20,000 active addresses alongside over 400,000 total transactions.

The report added that the protocol’s success has led to a lot of copycats who are trying to replicate Friend.Tech’s early success across other blockchain networks. It added that:

“Social media is witnessing a potential paradigm shift with the emergence of blockchain-based platforms…Blockchain-enabled social platforms offer enhanced privacy, data ownership, and user empowerment, potentially fostering a more equitable digital environment.”