Q3 2025 Dapp Report: DeFi TVL reaches a new high, NFT trading volume doubles in rise.

Author: DappRadar

Compiled by: Felix, PANews

Despite Bitcoin reaching a new high in the first week of October, the third quarter of 2025 has laid a perfect foundation for year-end developments. Dapps have been affected by the sluggish crypto market, but innovation has never ceased. In the past three months, we have witnessed the continued rise of Dapps, tokenization becoming an important pillar of the industry, NFTs gaining momentum, and DeFi TVL reaching an all-time high.

Key Points:

• The average daily active wallet count for Dapps is 18.7 million, a decrease of 22.4% compared to the previous quarter.
• The game solidified its market dominance, growing from 20.1% in the second quarter to 25% in the third quarter. NFT (accounting for 18.5%) and DeFi (accounting for 17.9%) follow closely behind.
• The TVL of DeFi has reached a historic high, with the TVL of all blockchains and protocols reaching 237 billion dollars.
• NFT trading volume nearly doubled this quarter, reaching $1.58 billion. At the same time, NFT sales hit a quarterly record high of 18.1 million.
• Sports has become the main growth market for NFTs, with trading volume increasing by 337% to reach 71.1 million dollars.
• Losses from hacker attacks have fallen to their lowest point this year, at $434 million, but the threats are becoming increasingly complex.

1. As the momentum of SocialFi and AI weakens, the usage of Dapps declines.

The average daily active independent wallet count for Dapps decreased by 22.4%. In the third quarter, Dapps attracted an average of 18.7 million wallets per day. Throughout the entire quarter, the number of active wallets in each category declined, but the decrease was most significant in the social and AI categories.

Throughout the quarter, the appeal of the AI category has declined, with the average number of active wallets dropping from 4.8 million in Q2 to 3.1 million in Q3. This downward trend is reflected in the success of the AI agent launch platform, Virtuals Protocol. In Q2, Virtuals Protocol attracted 10,000 active wallets daily, while millions of users flocked to the platform. Nowadays, it attracts 1,000 to 1,500 active wallets daily, with an average daily trading volume of about $100,000.

In addition to AI, social Dapps have also been impacted. In the second quarter of this year, the number of daily active wallets for social Dapps reached 3.8 million. However, in Q3, this number plummeted by more than half, dropping to 1.57 million active wallets. Various social Dapps such as The Arena, Layer3, and OnchainGM peaked in the second quarter, but their activity has significantly decreased over the past three months.

If segmented by market sectors, social and AI categories both lost market share in the past quarter. In the second quarter, AI was the third most active market sector, accounting for 18.6%, but by Q3, this proportion dropped to 16.8%. The social sector was hit harder, declining from 15.9% to 8.4%. In terms of market dominance, the market share of NFTs has increased, currently ranking second with a share of 18.5%. Meanwhile, the gaming category still dominates the Dapp industry, with a market share of 25%.

Earlier this year, gaming, DeFi, and AI dominated, followed closely by social and NFTs. The situation reversed in Q3. Gaming still holds the top position, but NFTs have risen in ranking and are now in second place. DeFi and AI follow closely, while social is now the weakest area in the market, surpassed by a variety of Dapps in the "other" category.

If we look at each Dapp individually, we will find that gaming Dapps still dominate. Although the shopping application KAI-CHING attracts the most active wallets, gaming Dapps account for a large portion of the top five Dapps. "World of Dypians" is a social gaming metaverse, HOT Protocol provides gamified services, while KGeN is an interactive gaming platform.

2. DeFi TVL set a historic high of $237 billion

As cryptocurrency prices rise, innovation is pushing the DeFi market to historic highs. Lending protocols are thriving, cross-chain liquidity has become a hot topic in the industry, and the rise of meme coins and AI tokens has brought significant liquidity to certain ecosystems. Furthermore, the rise of stablecoins is bringing DeFi into the spotlight of traditional finance.

In Q3, the United States passed three pieces of cryptocurrency legislation, with the GENIU Act being particularly notable. This act provides the first legal framework for the issuance of stablecoins, requiring issuers to hold cash reserves or short-term U.S. Treasury bonds. At the same time, corporations and investment funds have poured billions of dollars into Bitcoin through Bitcoin ETFs. The launch of the stablecoin chain Plasma, along with announcements from companies like Circle and PayPal to launch networks, underscores the demand from traditional financial institutions for this cryptocurrency version of the dollar, euro, won, or yen.

Against this backdrop, the DeFi sector has set a new TVL record. By the end of Q3, $237 billion was locked in DeFi smart contracts. This is the highest record ever, and with the development of the tokenization of real-world assets and the ongoing progress in the stablecoin sector, this could be the beginning of a massive influx of liquidity.

However, despite Ethereum being the leader in the DeFi space, it did not seize the spotlight in Q3. Although Ethereum still maintains its lead with a TVL of $119 billion, its TVL has still decreased by 4%.

Solana successfully maintained its second position, but it experienced the largest decline among the top ten blockchains. Solana's TVL dropped by 33%, falling to $13.8 billion, primarily due to the waning momentum surrounding Pump.fun and meme coins.

The situation of the other 8 blockchains on the leaderboard is much more optimistic. BNB Chain launched the perpetual DEX Aster, which has caused a stir. Hyperliquid, designed specifically for on-chain perpetual trading, has also been in the spotlight over the past year, with its TVL increasing by 29% to reach $2.85 billion. This is also a trend in this quarter, as the functionalities of DEXs are gradually becoming as rich as those of CEXs.

3. NFT sales quantity reaches new high since 2022

Due to the low trading prices of many NFTs nowadays, the trading volume has slightly decreased. However, the number of transactions in 2025 has increased. The first quarter recorded sales of 7 million NFTs, and the second quarter reached 12.5 million. This upward trend continues. In the third quarter, the market recorded sales of over 18.1 million NFTs, generating a trading volume of 1.6 billion dollars.

The increase in sales volume has not been reflected in actual applications. Although the number of NFT traders has reached the highest monthly figure in the past 12 months, the increase is negligible compared to the sales volume.

In the first quarter of 2025, there were 1.66 million wallets trading NFTs. During the same period, 7 million NFTs were recorded as sold, meaning that on average, each wallet traded 4.2 NFTs. In Q3, there were 2.14 million wallets trading 18.1 million NFT assets. This means that on average, each wallet traded 8.4 NFTs.

Between the two quarters, sales increased by 158%. However, the number of wallets only grew by 28.6%. This indicates strong support from existing participants rather than a large influx of new users.

The only NFT category that experienced a decline is the gaming category. In the past quarter, the trading volume of gaming NFTs decreased by 17%, while the number sold dropped by 32%. In contrast, the trading volume of sports NFTs grew by 337%, reaching $71 million, and the sales quantity increased by 143%, totaling 4.1 million pieces.

The surge in trading volume can also be attributed to some developments. For example, OpenSea launched a campaign for its upcoming token, rewarding the most active traders on its platform. This led users to start trading low-value NFTs to meet daily standards. OpenSea successfully increased its sales volume by 29%, reaching 9.27 million assets.

At the same time, PFP (Profile Picture NFTs) led by CryptoPunks, Moonbirds, BAYC, and Pudgy Penguins has gained attention. The trading volume of PFP increased by 187% quarter-on-quarter, reaching $544 million. Although CryptoPunks remains the Holy Grail for NFT collectors, Pudgy Penguins is gradually evolving into an entertainment brand integrated into Web3, covering gaming and other forms of entertainment.

The company behind Bored Ape Yacht Club, Yuga Labs, sold some assets to focus on BAYC, MAYC, and Otherside. This has brought some new vitality to the Bored Ape community. However, they still sold Moonbirds.

Moonbirds has become a standout project this quarter with sales of 8,311 NFTs and a trading volume of 88 million dollars. The IP of Moonbirds is now owned by Orange Cap Games, which announced in the first week of October plans to introduce the BIRB token to Solana.

Putting aside the data, a real transformation is quietly happening. NFTs are no longer just a JPEG image of a monkey; they are integrating with the emerging RWA trend and DeFi.

The leading NFT series is Courtyard, which tokenizes physical collectible cards and then sells them as NFTs on the blockchain. Each NFT on Courtyard is a tokenized physical trading card, such as a Pokémon card or a baseball card. Users can trade digital versions of physical collectibles or redeem them for physical cards. In Q3 alone, Courtyard sold 1.55 million items, with a trading volume exceeding $145 million.

A new trend emerged in September: NFT Microstrategy. Token Works launched an automated protocol concept called PunkStrategy for buying and selling CryptoPunks assets. Users obtain PNKSTR tokens, and 10% of the transaction fees go into a fund pool. Once the protocol raises enough funds, it will purchase the cheapest CryptoPunk and then list it for sale at a price 20% higher than the purchase price.

After a CryptoPunk is sold on the open market, the protocol will use the obtained ETH to purchase PNKSTR from the market. These tokens will then be destroyed, exiting circulation. Therefore, PNKSTR becomes a way to access CryptoPunks without having to buy expensive NFTs.

NFTs are no longer just about collecting. These digital assets can represent ownership of physical assets and can also become part of automated DeFi protocols.

4. Hacker threats never stop, $434 million stolen

In Q3, hackers stole over $434 million worth of cryptocurrency. The largest attack involved social engineering and vulnerability exploitation. In July, a hacker manipulated the internal accounting security measures by exploiting a malicious contract in GMX V1, resulting in a loss of $42 million by withdrawing more than what was due. A few days later, CoinDCX lost $44 million due to a server breach.

Recently, in September, the social project UXLINK suffered a multi-signature vulnerability attack, resulting in the theft of assets worth $21.7 million. Additionally, the hacker gained unauthorized minting rights and issued 1 billion UXLINK tokens. The sell-off caused the token's value to drop by 70%. Ironically, this hacker later lost tokens worth $48 million due to a phishing attack.

The second major event in Q3 was the hacking of the Turkish exchange BTCTurk. However, the top incident involved a victim who lost 783 bitcoins (approximately 91 million USD) through a social engineering scam. The attacker deceived the victim by impersonating customer service from the exchange and wallet. Specific details are unknown, but with the rise of AI tools, such attacks seem more likely to occur.

These 5 incidents accounted for the majority of stolen funds in the third quarter. The amount stolen reached $434 million, and the intensity of attacks seems to have weakened this quarter. However, with the tokenization of real-world assets, the rise of more advanced DeFi functionalities, and institutions seeking to adopt stablecoins, it is certain that crypto wallets will always be targets for scammers and hackers. Recent reports regarding iOS operating system and WhatsApp zero-click vulnerabilities indicate that crypto users need to remain vigilant.

Conclusion

Q3 showcased the resilience and adaptability of Dapps in the rapidly changing cryptocurrency market. Despite a decline in daily active wallets and challenges in the SocialFi and AI sectors, Dapps continue to move steadily forward, achieving significant milestones. The TVL of DeFi reached a record of 237 billion dollars, indicating strong growth and increasing interest from institutional investors, particularly in stablecoins and tokenized assets.

The sales in the NFT market have surged to 18.1 million, highlighting its evolving role that has surpassed the realm of collectibles, merging with DeFi and real-world assets. The gaming sector still dominates.

Dapps are gradually reaching the lives of everyday users seeking financial services, fun games, or rare Pokémon cards. Currently, the number of active wallets is in the millions, but it will soon reach billions.

Related reading: August Dapp report: On-chain activity has cooled down, NFTs continue to warm up.