May Dapp Report: Daily active Wallets rise by 8%, NFT volume pumps by 40%

Author: DappRadar

Compiled by: Felix, PANews

May 2025 will be a turning point for the Dapp (decentralized application) industry. With rising user activity, a strong resurgence of DeFi, and the solidification of AI’s role in Web3, this ecosystem shows signs of stability and maturity. From market recovery to infrastructure upgrades and shifts in user preferences, May highlights how Dapps are continuously evolving in terms of long-term usability, rather than just reflecting the hype cycle.

Key Points:

• In May, the number of daily active unique wallets (dUAW) reached 25 million, an increase of 8%, indicating a healthy development trend for the entire ecosystem.
• The total value locked (TVL) in DeFi grew by 25%, reaching $200 billion, thanks to a 40% increase in Ethereum’s price and Hyperliquid’s trading volume of $24.4 billion.
• NFT trading volume increased by 40%, reaching $280 million, with the number of transactions growing by 35%, mainly driven by Ethereum, Abstract, and Telegram-related domain names.
• The daily active user wallets (dUAW) of AI dapps reached 4.8 million, an increase of 23%, comparable to the user engagement in the DeFi and gaming sectors.
• Loss of $275 million due to Web3 vulnerabilities—making it the third highest loss month in a year, surpassing the total from November to March.

1. 2500 million dUAW logo dapp healthy growth

In May, dapps clearly showed optimistic signs of recovery, with dUAW increasing by 8% to reach 25 million. This growth aligns with the overall market sentiment and benefits from the revival of DeFi and NFT activities, which will be explored in the following chapters.

Three areas have performed outstandingly this month, with sustained and significant growth:

• AI DApp growth 23%, dUAW reached 4.8 million
• Social DApp growth of 21%, dUAW reaches 4.3 million
• NFT DApp growth 9%, dUAW reaches 3.9 million

These growths not only indicate an increased attractiveness across various fields but also promote a more balanced ecosystem development. Currently, we are witnessing AI, DeFi, and gaming DApps gradually taking the lead, with their respective shares in user activity being relatively close.

In addition to the rising user activity in AI, DeFi, and gaming sectors, another emerging trend worth noting is “Information Finance” (InfoFi) — the financialization of data and information in the Web3 space. Although AI continues to attract mainstream attention, InfoFi is quietly building a new layer of decentralized stack. This trend enables users, protocols, and AI agents to buy, sell, stake, lend, or borrow data, insights, and models, and typically leverage blockchain technology to achieve traceability, transparency, and monetization. Just as SocialFi redefines user engagement, InfoFi is building the infrastructure for data to become an active financial asset.

The diverse participation of users marks an important milestone. A healthy and mature dapp ecosystem means that multiple verticals can thrive simultaneously, which is not only reflected in the hype cycle but also in the sustained utility, community adoption, and platform evolution.

Although AI has been a mainstream topic across various industries, on-chain data now confirms this trend. As AI dapps are on par with DeFi and gaming in terms of daily active wallets, AI is integrating into the blockchain experience, ranging from productivity tools and agents to social and marketing tools.

The May on-chain activities indicate that the DApp ecosystem is becoming stronger and more diverse. As user attention spreads more evenly across various fields and with the further integration of emerging technologies like AI, the landscape of Web3 is continuously evolving towards a more powerful and sustainable infrastructure.

2. Popular DApps Ranked by UAW: From Meme Craze to Utility-Driven Growth

The user participation pattern in May shows a gradual shift from speculative hype to a greater focus on practical DApps. Although the meme coin craze led by platforms like Pump.fun attracted a lot of attention in April, this momentum seems to be cooling down. As of May, Pump.fun has declined from its activity peak, indicating that meme coin trading may have reached a saturation point at least for now.

In contrast, the number of unique active wallets (UAW) for DeFi DApps has significantly increased, especially on Uniswap V2, which continues to benefit from strong activity on Base. On May 4th, Uniswap announced its integration with Soneium, marking a significant development. This move not only enriches Uniswap’s L2 presence but also opens a new chapter in merging DeFi with entertainment and consumer technology.

In the gaming sector, World of Dypians continues to dominate, consistently ranking among the top in monthly active users. Its immersive world-building and loyal player community are becoming key factors in attracting players for the long term, a challenge that this category often faces in maintaining player interest.

At the same time, in the fields of AI and social networking, SubHub has gained momentum by combining personalized Web3 communication with AI-enhanced delivery infrastructure. Positioned at the intersection of messaging, wallets, and smart location, SubHub symbolizes that AI dapps are beginning to build loyal user bases rather than just chasing hype cycles.

The performance of popular DApps in May reflects a broader trend: while speculative hype can quickly drive a surge in users, long-term retention increasingly relies on practicality and platform innovation. Whether it is AI-based communication, underlying game interactions, or L2-based DeFi expansions, today’s rising DApps not only offer speculation for users but also provide ease of use and functionality.

3. DeFi Rising: TVL Climbs 25%

DeFi continued its upward trend in May, with TVL growing by 25%, bringing the total size of the industry to about $200 billion. This recovery is closely related to the overall market rise, especially with Bitcoin hitting an all-time high and Ethereum’s price soaring by 40%, both of which significantly boosted the valuation and liquidity depth of DeFi assets.

The TVL of all major DeFi ecosystems has increased, indicating a revival of investor confidence and more active on-chain activities. Among them, one project stands out.

! May Dapp Report: The number of daily active wallets increased by 8%, and NFT trading volume increased by 40%

The standout performer this month is the decentralized exchange Hyperliquid, which achieved a trading volume of $244 billion, accounting for about 10% of Binance’s market share. With this performance, Hyperliquid’s ranking is as follows:

• Top five trading volume rankings of centralized and decentralized exchanges
• The top ten total locked value rankings of all blockchain networks
• This marks a significant shift in the way on-chain derivatives protocols directly compete with major centralized finance (CeFi) participants, indicating that decentralized perpetual contracts and derivatives are maturing.

In addition to various indicators, several important updates and policy measures in May have impacted the development of DeFi:

Ethereum’s Pectra upgrade

The highly anticipated hard fork has brought two key improvements:

• EIP-7702: Introduces account abstraction, providing features similar to smart contracts for regular wallets, including batch transactions and gas fee sponsorship.
• EIP-7251: Increase the validator reward cap from 32 ETH to 2048 ETH, allowing institutional stakers to earn compound staking rewards and improve capital efficiency.

XRP Ledger launches EURØP stablecoin

Ripple has launched EURØP, a stablecoin pegged to the euro, fully compliant with the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA). This makes it the first major stablecoin to comply with MiCA regulations, marking a new phase in DeFi compliance and regulation.

U.S. GENIUS Act makes progress

The U.S. Senate passed a motion to end debate on the bipartisan GENIUS Act with a vote of 66 in favor and 32 against, which aims to promote federal regulation of stablecoin issuers. The progress of this bill marks the end of a long and drawn-out debate, indicating that regulatory momentum in Washington is strengthening.

South Korea Considers Approving Cryptocurrency ETF

The ruling party of South Korea has promised to approve spot ETFs for cryptocurrencies and relax the restrictions on banks regarding exchanges, a move that could significantly enhance the accessibility of cryptocurrencies in the highly active retail market in Asia.

With the reconstruction of the DeFi foundation, upgrades at the protocol level, regulatory clarity, and market growth, a more mature and resilient future for DeFi is indicated. Although risks still exist, the performance in May 2025 proves that DeFi is continually evolving in terms of infrastructure and institutional relevance.

4. AI in Web3 is gaining momentum, with public calls for decentralized intelligence

AI continues to dominate globally, and its impact on Web3 is becoming increasingly significant. As various industries compete to integrate AI, AI-driven dapps are steadily developing within the decentralized ecosystem. Therefore, this is not just hype, but a trend that reflects society’s shift towards open, user-driven technology.

The best-performing AI dapps this month have remained stable overall, highlighting the strong resilience of early market leaders.

The most striking newcomer on the list is SubHub, a Web3 notification and marketing platform developed by Dmail that utilizes AI-enhanced technology. It aims to optimize the way projects interact with their audiences through personalized messaging via wallet addresses and decentralized identifiers (DIDs). SubHub is positioned at the intersection of AI, communication, and social DApps, reflecting the growing demand for autonomous, targeted, and decentralized promotion methods as users become weary of traditional centralized marketing models.

SubHub combines intelligent messaging with wallet-based targeting features, reinforcing the concept of the growing integration of social and AI DApps, thereby achieving a user-centric experience across multiple levels of Web3 infrastructure.

In addition to DApps, significant progress has also been made in the AI x blockchain field this month:

• ThinkAgents.ai has released the open-source “Think Agent Standard,” a protocol for deploying autonomous agents in decentralized networks, marking a step towards interoperable on-chain AI.
• Tether announced its entry into the AI field, planning to launch a decentralized AI platform that combines peer-to-peer communication with native encryption integration.
• Assisterr (Solana) raised $2.8 million at a valuation of $75 million to support the no-code deployment of the small language model (SLM) - providing composable AI tools without heavy development costs.
• Donut Labs has secured $7 million in seed funding to build the first “proxy” Web3 browser that combines AI capabilities with crypto wallets and DEX.
• The global exchange BingX has committed to investing $300 million over three years in its “AI Evolution” roadmap—integrating AI into its trading engine and ecosystem.

However, perhaps the most indicative aspect is that public support for decentralized AI is on the rise. A poll commissioned by Digital Currency Group and conducted by Harris Poll (May 29) shows:

• 77% of Americans believe decentralized AI is more beneficial to society than centralized models.
• 56% of people prefer to develop AI through decentralized systems.
• This data highlights a cultural shift that aligns with the transparency, user ownership, and anti-monopoly values of Web3.

5. NFT Growth 40%: True Recovery or Short-term Surge?

In May, there were signs of recovery in the NFT market, with trading volume climbing to $280 million, a month-on-month increase of 40%. Similarly, the number of NFT transactions also grew by 35%, reaching 2.7 million. Although this growth brings a hint of optimism, it is far from being called a full recovery. To form a sustainable trend, growth needs to be maintained for several consecutive months, but even small victories are still victories.

Ethereum’s NFT trading volume grew by 30%, regaining its dominance, accounting for 53% of the total NFT market. This is followed by Immutable zkEVM at 13% and Abstract at 10%. Notably, Abstract’s trading volume spiked by 1,200%, largely due to speculation related to mining and anticipatory airdrops, suggesting that incentives are still impacting the NFT market. This can be seen in the fact that the most popular NFT collection has more than 1 million daily transactions, but the floor price is still around $300.

By sector, the strongest growth is seen in art-based NFTs, with collections like Good Vibes Club driving a significant increase in trading volume. Following closely is the resurgence of domain NFTs, particularly those associated with TON and Telegram, as dapps based on Telegram continue to gain popularity. Their appeal lies in ease of access, gamified experiences, and low entry barriers, indicating that the combination of messaging platforms and NFTs may become a long-term trend.

Several developments in May are expected to reshape the NFT landscape:

Apple cancels 30% NFT tax on iOS system

Under legal pressure, Apple has made a landmark move by eliminating the 30% transaction fee on NFT trades within iOS apps, reducing barriers for NFT marketplaces integrated into iOS applications and opening the door for broader use of NFT platforms on mobile.

OpenSea launches OS 2.0 version

OpenSea has launched OS2, a comprehensive multi-chain marketplace that expands its business scope from NFTs to fungible tokens and meme coins, supporting 19 blockchains and integrating minting, swapping, and trading into a unified experience.

FIFA will migrate the NFT platform to EVM

FIFA has announced that it will migrate its NFT platform from Algorand to a custom Ethereum-compatible chain, known as the FIFA Blockchain. This move will enhance the scalability and wallet compatibility of fan collectibles, supporting operations through MetaMask and other EVM tools.

Tokenization of physical assets is gaining popularity

Courtyard is a platform for tokenizing real-world assets, and it has become one of the largest NFT collection platforms by trading volume, with a trading volume exceeding 55 million dollars, indicating a growing demand for RWA-based NFTs.

Although enthusiasm for the NFT space is gradually recovering, most of the trading volume is still influenced by airdrops, mining incentives, and speculative behavior. If this momentum continues in the coming months, it may signal that NFTs are entering a new phase - one that combines practicality, accessibility, and real-world applications.

6. This month the Web3 sector’s losses reached 275 million USD

Although the number of individual incidents in May was less than in April, the losses caused by hacking attacks and exploitations remain deeply concerning. According to the REKT database, just 7 incidents resulted in losses exceeding $275 million, making it the third highest month for losses in the past year, surpassing the total of November, December, January, and March.

Although this figure has decreased by 95% compared to the record losses in April, largely due to the Mantra DAO incident, viewing this as a sign of recovery is misleading. The severity of the single attack in May highlights the persistent systemic vulnerabilities within the dapp ecosystem.

Notable Vulnerability Incidents This Month:

Cetus protocol vulnerability: 260 million USD

On May 22, the decentralized exchange Cetus Protocol on the Sui network suffered a large-scale attack, resulting in a loss of $260 million. The token prices on the platform plummeted, with some token values dropping by more than 90%. The team immediately suspended smart contract operations to control the losses and launched an investigation.

Cork protocol vulnerability: approximately 12 million USD

On May 28, the Cork protocol encountered a smart contract vulnerability, resulting in the theft of approximately 12 million dollars worth of 3,760 wstETH. This attack exposed a critical flaw in the contract logic and immediately triggered an alarm in the community.

Mobius Token (MBU) Event: Approximately 2.16 million USD

On May 11, a suspicious interaction with an unverified contract on the Binance Smart Chain resulted in a loss of 2.16 million dollars. Although the incident appears to be a typical exploit, various signs indicate that this may be a “rug pull,” further blurring the line between technical vulnerabilities and malicious actions.

Data from May clearly indicates that, despite improvements in tools and awareness, the Web3 space remains highly vulnerable. Ongoing attacks worth millions of dollars underscore the urgent need for stricter audit standards, real-time risk monitoring, and better education for developers and users.

7. Conclusion

May is a crucial month for the dapp ecosystem, marking a full recovery and the maturity of industry dynamics. The number of daily active wallets reached 25 million, and user engagement is on the rise, thanks to the growth in key verticals such as DeFi, NFTs, AI, and social.

It has become increasingly clear that the shift from hype-driven activities to participation focused on practicality is occurring. While meme coins may have cooled off, decentralized finance protocols like Hyperliquid and AI dapps like SubHub are becoming more important, indicating that users are leaning towards platforms that offer functionality, innovation, and real value.

DeFi TVL increased by 25%, reflecting a recovery of market confidence, thanks to infrastructure upgrades and advancements in policies. Meanwhile, NFT trading volume surged by 40%, with Ethereum regaining dominance, and RWA also receiving significant attention. The momentum of AI development continues to strengthen, not only in terms of public sentiment (77% of Americans prefer decentralized AI) but also in usage, which is comparable to the user activity in gaming and DeFi.

In short, the DApp industry is transitioning from a turbulent experimental phase to a stable development stage. With the diversification of user activities and the practical application of technologies like AI, this ecosystem is entering a new phase—one that is defined not only by trends but also by infrastructure, balance, and long-term resilience.

Related Reading: A Comprehensive Overview of the Current State of DeFi Development: Aave and Lido Become the Protocols with the Highest TVL, Solana Ranks as the Second Largest Public Chain