Wallets interacting with Ethereum-based decentralized finance protocols have dipped significantly since mid-February.
According to DappRadar, the unique active wallet count on the Ethereum DeFi market has seen a significant drop. Between mid-February and the time of writing, unique active wallets on Ethereum DeFi have dipped almost 40%.
While Ethereum (ETH) gas fees seem to have bottomed out, the high transaction costs that have characterized the network over the past few weeks appear to have resulted in a marked effect on DeFi user statistics.
Major DeFi protocols like Synthetix and Curve have also seen between 10 and 15% in 24-hour active user count decline. Indeed, Cointelegraph previously reported that daily DeFi volumes have retreated significantly amid high gas fees.
However, popular decentralized exchanges like Uniswap and 1inch have seen an influx of new users over the past month. DappRadar data shows Uniswap’s user base growing by 22%, while 1inch has seen an increase of 35% in new users in the last 30 days.
The user adoption slump for Ethereum-based DeFi has also coincided with a major influx of users to the Binance Smart Chain. PancakeSwap, the leading BSC-based DEX has seen its user base increase by over 200% in the last month.
While Ethereum DeFi numbers appear to be sinking, the nonfungible token marketplace is seemingly immune from the current trend. NFT marketplaces like Opensea and Rarible have posted the largest user base increase in the last month with their percentages rivaling those posted by popular BSC-based DEX platforms.
Though the numbers show BSC protocols pulling in new users, it is important to note that decentralized finance on the Binance Smart Chain is nowhere near as diverse as the Ethereum DeFi arena with its plethora of lending, derivatives, and asset marketplaces.
However, SushiSwap recently went live on the BSC with 1inch also announcing a planned expansion to the Binance Smart Chain.
Meanwhile, Ethereum proponents are gearing up for the anticipated EIP-1559 gas fee overhaul slated for July.