According to Cointelegraph: Blockchain activity witnessed a significant uptick in Q3 2024, driven by the rise of AI-powered decentralized applications (DApps). According to an Oct. 8 report by DappRadar, daily unique active wallets (UAWs) in the DApp industry soared by 70%, hitting a record-breaking 17.2 million. This growth is largely attributed to the rapid adoption of AI-related DApps, which saw a remarkable 71% increase, with nearly 4.3 million daily UAWs.
Key Players in the AI-DApp Sector
Two prominent projects leading the surge in AI DApp activity are Data Intelligence Network (DIN) and Alaya AI:
DIN: Launched in April 2024, this modular data pre-processing layer has quickly gained traction, surpassing 1 million daily UAWs in Q3.
Alaya AI: A data collection and labeling platform, Alaya maintained steady activity, reaching 100,000 daily wallets over the last 90 days.
DeFi Sector Faces Decline in Q3
While AI-related DApps experienced robust growth, decentralized finance (DeFi) applications took a hit. The total value locked (TVL) in DeFi dropped from $168 billion in Q2 to $160 billion in Q3, with the Ethereum network alone seeing a 20% decline, reducing its TVL to $95 billion.
In contrast, layer-1 blockchains like Sui and Aptos emerged as top performers, both registering 78% growth in total value locked, with Sui reaching $1.6 billion and Aptos $1.3 billion.
NFT Market Faces a Major Downturn
The non-fungible token (NFT) industry saw a sharp decline in Q3 2024, following a strong performance in the previous quarter. NFT trading volumes dropped by 60% to $1.6 billion, while total NFT sales fell by 23% to 11.5 million. Despite this overall decline, OpenSea emerged as a dominant platform, with trading volume hitting $570 million, while competitors like Blur and Magic Eden struggled due to changes in incentives and royalty structures.
This significant shift in the blockchain ecosystem reflects the growing influence of AI applications, while traditional sectors like DeFi and NFTs faced challenges amid market changes.
