Hot DAO, or Hot Protocol, became the top decentralized app, displacing Particle Network from the top spot. The protocol even outperformed Uniswap V3. The apps were ranked by unique active users and reflected the protocols’ specific traffic patterns.
DappRadar places Hot Protocol, or Hot DAO as its top app after displacing Particle Network. Hot Protocol is far ahead of Uniswap V3, one of the busiest smart contracts. However, when it comes to active users, Hot DAO takes the lead with consistently high volumes.
DappRadar reflects the temporary condition of apps and the current performance may change, putting other apps and games at the top.
Hot DAO is active on eight blockchains, including Ethereum, BNB Chain, L2 chains Arbitrum, Optimism, Polygon, and Base, as well as NEAR and Aurora. DappRadar reported the activity for all chains linked to Hot Protocol.
However, the app is nowhere near the top for Ethereum or BNB Chain. Most of the traffic comes from NEAR Protocol, where Hot Protocol has the bulk of its users, 1.97M on a weekly basis. The activity is part of the partnership with NEAR, which always reports high levels of activity. However, it remains a niche chain.
Hot Protocol activity grew in 2024 with expectations of a HOT token airdrop. | Source: DappRadar
Hot DAO and Hot Protocol are hubs for Multi-Party Computation (MPC) wallets, hence the high traffic. The app achieved 2.98M unique active wallets in the past seven days and $30.74M in weekly transactions. The activity for Hot Protocol has been ramping up for months since the protocol’s inception, peaking in terms of users and transactions.
The growing activity reflects the usage of Hot Wallet, the protocol’s main product.
HotDAO provides wallet services for Telegram mini-apps
The growth of Hot DAO and Hot Protocol did not happen in a vacuum. The main reason is that Hot Wallet is one of the key components of the mini-app ecosystem on Telegram. Hot Wallet is multi-chain and is tailored for app creators.
In October, Hot Wallet enjoyed additional traffic after opening its SDK for mini-apps. The protocol allows for mini-app creation and wallet integration for all EVM-compatible chains, Ethereum, Solana, NEAR, as well as Toncoin.
Hot Wallet is instantly available as a multi-chain tool, potentially serving trading and DeFi apps. In the past week, during its record transaction period, Hot Protocol activated access and bridging to Solana and Toncoin, expanding its reach into two of the most active ecosystems.
Some of the protocol and wallet’s activities come from bridging and multi-chain activity. The Chain Signature protocol, offering secure cross-chain activities, indicates a revival of DeFi and app activities.
Hot Protocol is a relatively new app, starting its activity in 2024. While some of the growth is organic, the protocol also added airdrop farming, boosting the usage of its bridge and other features.
The airdrop claims page went live on October 12, creating a spike of activity around expectations of launching a native HOT token. In the past few months, part of the usage for Hot Wallet was one of the airdrop missions, hence the wider adoption.
Outside point farming, Hot Protocol also reaches out to developers for native in-app wallet integration.
HOT Protocol airdrop confuses the community
One problem reported by the Hot Protocol community is the delayed airdrop. Hot DAO claims the eligibility form is already live, though there are still no allocation criteria and users have not found the form on the project’s website. It turned out the airdrop form was only for users affected by the Boom Token scam, and was a temporary fix.
For Hot DAO, the airdrop may remain a source of hype in the coming days. However, traffic can also stall and reveal what part was due to adoption, and what part was due to expecting a token allocation.
HOT tokens were also mined through NEAR Protocol wallets. HOT is expected to launch with a relatively high price of $3 to $10. However, an eventual airdrop may not have the expected value and the conditions may change.
Also, the protocol first mentioned an airdrop almost a year ago, testing its community’s patience. The recent activity boost is reigniting hopes that Hot Protocol will deliver and have real utility in the Web3 ecosystem. However, there are fears that months of point farming and activity may lead to an underwhelming airdrop valued at only $25.
