The gaming industry is driving the growth of the decentralized blockchain application (dApp) sector, while decentralized finance (DeFi) and non-fungible tokens (NFT) are losing ground.
After months of almost continuous growth, the number of unique active wallets related to DeFi fell by 11% in the third quarter of this year, according to a new report from DappRadar. As for unique portfolios linked to NFT, their number only decreased by 2% compared to the previous quarter.
However, researchers say that gaming continues to drive the use of the blockchain industry, with the number of unique wallets connecting to decentralized gaming applications increasing by 140% compared to the previous quarter.
DappRadar experts note that despite the fact that transaction volumes in the NFT space are still rising and DeFi is very popular, the level of usage has dropped in both areas, with a sharp decline in the number of DeFi app launches.
Game applications, on the other hand, have made huge strides, particularly in the Axie Infinity game (AXS).
According to Sky Mavis, the studio that created the game, Axie Infinity’s active users exceeded 1.5 million and revenues exceeded $776 million. DappRadar noted that this figure exceeded blockchains such as Bitcoin and Binance Smart Chain.
Transaction volumes were equally stellar. Last month, Axie Infinity broke the $2 billion mark in absolute transaction volume, which is unmatched by any other decentralized application. Now, that figure is closer to $2.2 billion. For comparison, the NFT project CryptoPunks has raised $1.4 billion.
Analysts suggest that the move to the Ronin sidechain, created on the Ethereum blockchain, has helped Axie Infinity to be so successful.
DappRadar specialists concluded that without the gaming industry, NFT’s backlog could be even larger:
“NFT is one of the main supports for blockchain games. Unlike traditional games, NFT gives players using blockchain a real sense of ownership over game objects. They have become a fundamental part of the NFT space as a whole.”
Data from the report showed that NFT’s in-game item trading volume generated $2.3 billion in the third quarter, representing 22% of NFT’s total trading volume for the quarter.
As for the DeFi space, it’s not so bad – the total locked-in cost of the DeFi space is around $178 billion, with over 92% of that coming from six blockchains.
It seems that at the end of the previous quarter, existing decentralized DeFi applications gained strength, as on 6 September the total volume of funds locked up in DeFi increased by 104%, reaching a peak of $195 billion.
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