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DEPINThe brief history of DePIN
DePIN (Decentralized Physical Infrastructure Networks) refers to decentralized systems that leverage blockchain technology to manage physical infrastructure in a way that is transparent, scalable, and incentivized through token economies. The concept of DePIN has evolved significantly since its early days, and its development has been shaped by key milestones and real-world applications.Early Development (2021–2022)The origin of DePIN can be traced back to 2021 when IoTeX first coined the ter...
DEPINUnveiling the most powerful digital currencies in 2024: the road to a hundredfold rise of VIRTUAL, B…
In the digital currency field in 2024, which is full of variables and opportunities, various currencies have different performances. According to the CoinGecko report, as of December 25, several digital currencies have stood out, among which VIRTUAL, BRETT and POPCAT have the highest growth rates. There are different driving factors behind them, which are profoundly affecting the cryptocurrency market pattern. The top three cryptocurrency market growth rates in 2024 are VIRTUAL, BRETT and POP...
DEPINPIN AI: A16z Investment Project, $10M in Funding! Could Be the Next 100x Legend!
PIN AI is an open platform for personal AI, enabling users to reclaim data from centralized platforms and train private, on-device AI models. The PIN network integrates private computing, Trusted Execution Environments (TEEs), and blockchain validation to ensure secure interactions between humans and AI. PIN AI aims to create an open AI network with access to a vast amount of contextual data, where AI builders can create a variety of useful AI applications. Rooted in open-source AI and Ethere...
DEPINThe brief history of DePIN
DePIN (Decentralized Physical Infrastructure Networks) refers to decentralized systems that leverage blockchain technology to manage physical infrastructure in a way that is transparent, scalable, and incentivized through token economies. The concept of DePIN has evolved significantly since its early days, and its development has been shaped by key milestones and real-world applications.Early Development (2021–2022)The origin of DePIN can be traced back to 2021 when IoTeX first coined the ter...
DEPINUnveiling the most powerful digital currencies in 2024: the road to a hundredfold rise of VIRTUAL, B…
In the digital currency field in 2024, which is full of variables and opportunities, various currencies have different performances. According to the CoinGecko report, as of December 25, several digital currencies have stood out, among which VIRTUAL, BRETT and POPCAT have the highest growth rates. There are different driving factors behind them, which are profoundly affecting the cryptocurrency market pattern. The top three cryptocurrency market growth rates in 2024 are VIRTUAL, BRETT and POP...
DEPINPIN AI: A16z Investment Project, $10M in Funding! Could Be the Next 100x Legend!
PIN AI is an open platform for personal AI, enabling users to reclaim data from centralized platforms and train private, on-device AI models. The PIN network integrates private computing, Trusted Execution Environments (TEEs), and blockchain validation to ensure secure interactions between humans and AI. PIN AI aims to create an open AI network with access to a vast amount of contextual data, where AI builders can create a variety of useful AI applications. Rooted in open-source AI and Ethere...
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DEPINQ3 2025 Dapp Industry Report
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DEPINQ3 2025 Dapp Industry Report
1. Overall Dapp Usage Drops—Gamers Hold the Line
Daily Unique Active Wallets (dUAW) fell 22.4 % quarter-on-quarter to 18.7 mln. Social and AI dapps took the biggest hit, while games kept a 25 % category share, followed by NFT (18.5 %) and DeFi (17.9 %).
AI cooled fastest: Virtuals Protocol went from 10 k dUAW in Q2 to ≈ 1.2 k; category share slid from 18.6 % → 16.8 %.
Social collapsed from 3.8 mln → 1.57 mln dUAW and 15.9 % → 8.4 % share.
Games consolidated leadership; top-five most-used dapps include three game-centric titles plus shopping app KAI-CHING.
2. DeFi TVL Prints Record $237 Bln—Ethereum Flat, Solana Slides
Total Value Locked reached an all-time high of $237 bln (+12 % QoQ), powered by:
Stablecoin legislation (GENIUS Act) and TradFi inflows via BTC ETFs.
Real-world-asset (RWA) tokenisation and memecoin/AI-token liquidity mining.
Chain-level snapshot
Ethereum still dominates at $119 bln (-4 % QoQ).
Solana stays second but TVL down 33 % to $13.8 bln after Pump.fun mania faded.
BNB Chain & Hyperliquid shone: Hyperliquid TVL +29 % to $2.85 bln on perpetual-DEX traction.
Cross-chain liquidity layers and “CEX-like” DEX UX are the quarter’s narrative.
3. NFTs: 18.1 M Items Sold—Biggest Quarter Since 2022
Sales volume doubled to $1.58 bln on 18.1 mln assets (+45 % QoQ), the highest unit count since Q1 2022.
Average wallets active: 2.14 mln (+28.6 % QoQ) but each wallet bought 8.4 NFTs vs 4.2 in Q1—indicating super-users, not newbies, drove growth.
Category break-down
Sports NFTs +337 % to $71.1 mln; 4.1 mln pieces sold (+143 %).
PFPs (CryptoPunks, Pudgy Penguins, BAYC) +187 % to $544 mln.
Gaming NFTs only segment in red: volume -17 %, units -32 %.
Stand-out platforms / experiments
Courtyard tokenised physical Pokémon & baseball cards → 1.55 mln items, $145 mln volume.
PunkStrategy automates buy-low/sell-high on CryptoPunks; holders of PNKSTR share upside without owning a full Punk.
OpenSea pre-token airdrop campaign lifted its quarterly sales 29 % to 9.27 mln assets.
4. Hack Losses Lowest This Year—But Attacks Are Smarter
Exploits totalled $434 mln, the quietest quarter of 2025, yet vectors are growing more sophisticated:
GMX V1 logic flaw: $42 mln
CoinDCX server breach: $44 mln
UXLINK multi-sig compromise + infinite mint: $21.7 mln (attacker later phished for $48 mln)
Social-engineering single victim: 783 BTC (~$91 mln)
RWA tokenisation, on-chain perps and stablecoin rails enlarge the attack surface; iOS & WhatsApp zero-click bugs remind users that keys are only as safe as the handset.
5. Outlook: From Millions to Billions of Wallets
Q3 proved crypto dapps can expand total value locked, unit sales and cultural reach even as headline user numbers slip. DeFi is absorbing institutional liquidity; NFTs are morphing into wrappers for real assets and automated strategies; games keep ordinary consumers clicking.
The next catalysts—lower rates, spot ETH ETFs, stablecoin rails in Big-Tech apps—could flip the funnel from “millions of degens” to “billions of everyday users” looking for yield, fun or a holographic Charizard.
1. Overall Dapp Usage Drops—Gamers Hold the Line
Daily Unique Active Wallets (dUAW) fell 22.4 % quarter-on-quarter to 18.7 mln. Social and AI dapps took the biggest hit, while games kept a 25 % category share, followed by NFT (18.5 %) and DeFi (17.9 %).
AI cooled fastest: Virtuals Protocol went from 10 k dUAW in Q2 to ≈ 1.2 k; category share slid from 18.6 % → 16.8 %.
Social collapsed from 3.8 mln → 1.57 mln dUAW and 15.9 % → 8.4 % share.
Games consolidated leadership; top-five most-used dapps include three game-centric titles plus shopping app KAI-CHING.
2. DeFi TVL Prints Record $237 Bln—Ethereum Flat, Solana Slides
Total Value Locked reached an all-time high of $237 bln (+12 % QoQ), powered by:
Stablecoin legislation (GENIUS Act) and TradFi inflows via BTC ETFs.
Real-world-asset (RWA) tokenisation and memecoin/AI-token liquidity mining.
Chain-level snapshot
Ethereum still dominates at $119 bln (-4 % QoQ).
Solana stays second but TVL down 33 % to $13.8 bln after Pump.fun mania faded.
BNB Chain & Hyperliquid shone: Hyperliquid TVL +29 % to $2.85 bln on perpetual-DEX traction.
Cross-chain liquidity layers and “CEX-like” DEX UX are the quarter’s narrative.
3. NFTs: 18.1 M Items Sold—Biggest Quarter Since 2022
Sales volume doubled to $1.58 bln on 18.1 mln assets (+45 % QoQ), the highest unit count since Q1 2022.
Average wallets active: 2.14 mln (+28.6 % QoQ) but each wallet bought 8.4 NFTs vs 4.2 in Q1—indicating super-users, not newbies, drove growth.
Category break-down
Sports NFTs +337 % to $71.1 mln; 4.1 mln pieces sold (+143 %).
PFPs (CryptoPunks, Pudgy Penguins, BAYC) +187 % to $544 mln.
Gaming NFTs only segment in red: volume -17 %, units -32 %.
Stand-out platforms / experiments
Courtyard tokenised physical Pokémon & baseball cards → 1.55 mln items, $145 mln volume.
PunkStrategy automates buy-low/sell-high on CryptoPunks; holders of PNKSTR share upside without owning a full Punk.
OpenSea pre-token airdrop campaign lifted its quarterly sales 29 % to 9.27 mln assets.
4. Hack Losses Lowest This Year—But Attacks Are Smarter
Exploits totalled $434 mln, the quietest quarter of 2025, yet vectors are growing more sophisticated:
GMX V1 logic flaw: $42 mln
CoinDCX server breach: $44 mln
UXLINK multi-sig compromise + infinite mint: $21.7 mln (attacker later phished for $48 mln)
Social-engineering single victim: 783 BTC (~$91 mln)
RWA tokenisation, on-chain perps and stablecoin rails enlarge the attack surface; iOS & WhatsApp zero-click bugs remind users that keys are only as safe as the handset.
5. Outlook: From Millions to Billions of Wallets
Q3 proved crypto dapps can expand total value locked, unit sales and cultural reach even as headline user numbers slip. DeFi is absorbing institutional liquidity; NFTs are morphing into wrappers for real assets and automated strategies; games keep ordinary consumers clicking.
The next catalysts—lower rates, spot ETH ETFs, stablecoin rails in Big-Tech apps—could flip the funnel from “millions of degens” to “billions of everyday users” looking for yield, fun or a holographic Charizard.
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