A fresh perspective on on-chain activity reveals that Solana, Ethereum, and Axelar are poised to lead the Web3 landscape in 2025, with aggregated user behaviors providing a new benchmark for evaluating user quality.
A Fresh Perspective on On-Chain Activity: What the Metrics Say About SOL, ETH, and Other Chains in 2025
Assessing User Quality Using Aggregated Data
When creating a sustainable on-chain ecosystem, it doesn’t make sense to optimize any single user action. Instead, context is needed to quantify not just everything users are doing, but how and why it matters. One promising approach to achieve this is to aggregate user behaviors into five core categories:
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Transaction Activity: ranging from spot trades to smart contract interactions
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Token Accumulation: in the medium-to-long-term, and other “investment” behaviors
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DeFi Engagement: for activities like staking, lending, and liquidity provision
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NFT Activity: such as minting, trading, and utility-driven interactions
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Governance Participation: to quantify DAO or protocol governance contributions
Crucially, these metrics should not be treated equally. A better approach is to weigh and combine them using a Bayesian model to generate a single top-line “score.” This dynamic, multi-variate approach helps capture the nuances of user quality across different chains.
The State of User Quality in 2024
The data paints a picture of varying levels of user engagement across different chains:
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Solana: faces significant challenges and opportunities entering 2025. The chain’s trajectory depends on its ability to retain its massive casual user base and expand their range of on-chain interactions.
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Ethereum: has low and stable user scores through H1 2024, suggesting that the year’s bullish developments did not spur broader ecosystem participation.
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Axelar: had the most active users across a broad range of on-chain activities relative to its total user base. This is an intriguing signal that warrants closer inspection.
The Importance of Multivariate Scoring
Scoring systems often struggle with prioritizing wide-ranging user activity, leading to an incomplete picture when applied to task-specific networks or general-purpose chains. In 2025, the winners will be those who find multivariate ways to measure and act on what matters most: user quality.
A Better Way to Define On-Chain Growth
Web3 has spent too long chasing the wrong metrics and failing to view the data in aggregate. By incorporating new scoring methods into their dashboards, on-chain intelligence platforms can provide more meaningful insights to investors and industry observers. At the same time, Web3 builders can use these scores to clarify top priorities and drive user engagement and value creation.
Ultimately, this will help the entire industry shift away from hype-driven narratives to data-backed strategies that unlock the full potential of Web3 in 2025 and beyond.
