DappRadar Report: NFTs Immune to Dumping Crypto Prices, Blockchain Gaming Flips DeFi Activities

The latest Blockchain User Behavior report by DappRadar on January 13 suggests that NFTs are immune to crypto price fluctuations as experienced in the tail-end of 2021. Irrefutable on-chain data showed that traders were unfazed and more joined, judging from the 43 percent spike in the active wallet (UAW) plugging to Ethereum, the most active NFT minting blockchain.

Interest in NFTs Soaring

The DappRadar report agrees with parallel statistics pointing at the exponential growth of NFTs in 2021. According to a Blockchain Game Alliance (BGA) report, NFTs users, especially those connecting to play-to-earn games, rose from around 30k to more than 750k in nine months ending Q3 2021. 

The sharp interest in NFTs could be due to the new technology’s ability to offer direct, beneficial links to the real world, breaking down needless walls. With digital artists selling their pieces for millions and NFTs finding prominence in play-to-earn games, it could also explain why organic searches for NFTs flipped crypto for the first time by the end of 2021, according to Google Trends.

NFTs Trading Volumes Steady as Crypto Prices Tumble

Notably, interest in NFTs countered the apprehension in the broader cryptocurrency (fungible) market. By mid-January 2022, the BTC price is disintegrating and could reach the $40k mark, dragging other cryptocurrencies with it. 

However, the cryptocurrencies market’s weakness seems only to recharge NFTs given how well its market performed in the second half of the year. The peaking of leading cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum in Q3 2021, for instance, saw over $10.9 billion of cumulative NFT trades posted in different marketplaces, according to DappRadar. This figure rose to $11.9 billion in Q4 2021, with even encouraging signs of adoption in the first two weeks of the year. 

DeFi’s Shrinking Dominance

The dump of cryptocurrencies, the report further captures, was heavy on DeFi. By mid-January 2022, the total value locked (TVL) in the DeFi ecosystem stood at $234 billion, down from around $260 billion. 

TVL peaked coincided with crypto prices heating the ceiling and dumping mostly from early November 2021. This sell-off negatively impacted DeFi activity, which tapered before falling gauged from TVL and its falling dominance. According to DappRadar, DeFi activities constitute 34.7 percent, flipped by gaming at 52.4 percent.

The U.S. is the Most Active Region

While tons of high throughput and scalable blockchains sprout, Ethereum is dominant. Confirming statistics point to an increase in the number of NFT items on the pioneer network and even more active wallets lining to NFT dApps on the network. There were 46.8k active wallets on average by Q4 2021, a near 50 percent increase from Q3 2021. The Ethereum brand looks solid and could post even more impressive statistics in the upcoming months.

Already, the P2E narrative and more projects, like Facebook, seeking to explore the metaverse places NFTs at the center of development, giving it a solid base for expansion. 

Of note, in the last few months, established P2E projects, DappRadar notes, have been meeting their milestones, therefore, enhancing their prospects. At the same time, more brands, like Adidas and celebrities, are endorsing NFTs, flocking to the sphere. 

While NFTs remain a global force, the U.S. is the most active region, followed by countries in the Americas and Asia. Interest specifically from the Americas is pinned to the zone’s high interest in sports, fashion, and celebrity interest.