Ethereum and Polygon continue to outpace newer Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) chains in attracting new users and trading volume, Flipside’s “New EVM Users: Q1 Snapshot” report shows. As of March 27, Ethereum has garnered 13.4 million new users, while Polygon has attracted 12.3 million, accounting for approximately 70% of the new user base across all EVM chains this year. In contrast, Arbitrum has seen 4.7 million new users since the start of 2024.
While Ethereum’s mainnet maintains its historical dominance, Layer-2 protocols are cumulatively processing more volume. Decentralized finance (DeFi) remains the primary draw for new users, with Ethereum leading in trading volume at $12 billion in Q1. Notably, Arbitrum’s new users have contributed a significant $9.5 billion in DeFi trading volume, indicating a strong engagement despite lower user acquisition numbers.
Base, benefiting from Coinbase’s efforts to simplify crypto for novices, has nearly octupled its new user base since January, with a record 243,000 new users on March 16. This surge coincides with Bitcoin’s new all-time high and marks the highest single-day new user count across EVM chains this year, the report points out.
The decentralized applications (dApps) ecosystem on Ethereum showcases diversity, with a large proportion of new users engaging with a variety of applications. However, Base exhibits the most evenly distributed dApp usage among new users, likely due to its nascent stage and lack of established market leaders.
Token swaps and bridging apps are the most common entry points for new users across EVM chains, with Uniswap and Orbiter Finance being the leading platforms on Ethereum and Base, respectively. Meanwhile, Optimism’s new user activity is notably concentrated on Worldcoin, reflecting sustained interest in the project.
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