DApp Market Q2 2025 Report: AI Applications Lead, RWA and Gaming Drive NFT Transformation

The DApp ecosystem is showing a trend of diversified development, with AI applications emerging strongly, the focus of the NFT market shifting, and DeFi seeking balance amid inflows of capital and reduced financing. These changes not only reflect the activity level of the market but also reveal shifts in user preferences and new directions in industry development.

The current market is no longer dominated by pure speculation. Users are beginning to pursue actual value, whether it is powerful AI agents, NFTs linked to physical assets, or DeFi platforms that provide stable returns. However, security risks remain high, highlighting the challenges the industry faces in rapid development.

This report provides an in-depth analysis of the data dynamics in areas such as DeFi, NFT, gaming, and AI, tracking key metrics and observing the core trends shaping the crypto industry in the second quarter of 2025.

Overview of Key Points:

• In the second quarter of 2025, the average daily active unique wallets for DApps was 24.3 million, a slight decrease of 2.5% compared to the previous quarter, but still a significant increase of 247% compared to the beginning of 2024.
• The total value locked in DeFi reached $200 billion, with a quarter-over-quarter increase of 28%, mainly benefiting from a 36% price rebound in Ethereum. However, the financing amount in the DeFi sector saw a quarter-over-quarter decline of 50%, with only $483 million raised in the second quarter.
• NFT trading volume fell by 45% to $867 million, but the number of sales surged by 78% to 14.9 million, reflecting a decrease in the average market price while the number of traders increased by 20%.
• RWA NFT trading volume increased by 29%, rising to second place, with the Courtyard platform becoming the second largest NFT market of the quarter.
• The trading volume of Guild of Guardians NFT ranks first and fourth, surpassing BAYC and CryptoPunks, marking a significant breakthrough for game-type NFTs.
• The industry suffered losses of $6.3 billion due to security incidents, an increase of 215% compared to the previous period. The Mantra incident alone resulted in a loss of as much as $5.5 billion, making it the second largest security incident in the crypto industry since the FTX incident in 2022.

1. The number of daily active independent wallets for DApp remains stable at 24 million, with significant growth in the AI and social fields.

The activity level of DApps this quarter has slightly decreased, with an average of 24.3 million daily active unique wallets. This level reflects the increasing maturity of the industry, as users continue to interact with DApps across multiple sectors. It is important to note that many users operate multiple wallets, so the number of daily active unique wallets may differ from the actual number of users. However, this metric remains an important basis for measuring user engagement.

The number of active wallets in DeFi and GameFi has declined by 33% and 17% respectively. In contrast, social and AI DApps have seen growth, aligning with current industry trends.

In the social domain, the concept of InfoFi has emerged, with platforms like Kaito and Cookie DAO standing out. In the AI field, agent-based DApps are dominant, with Virtuals Protocol being particularly noteworthy.

These changes in sectors have also impacted the distribution of market share. The decline in activity in the DeFi and gaming sectors has led to a decrease in their share, while the AI and social sectors have expanded their market share. Compared to the first quarter of 2025, the rise of the AI sector has been particularly rapid, with the social sector closely following. It is expected that by the end of the year, AI may surpass either gaming or DeFi in terms of dominance.

It is worth noting that the number one ranked independent wallet this quarter is an AI DApp. The remaining positions on the list are mostly well-known DeFi projects, which have maintained long-term stable operations amidst various market trends.

The "Dormant DApp" metric has been added this quarter, tracking applications that were active in Q1 2025 but completely ceased activity in Q2. The number of inactive DApps in the DeFi sector increased by 2%, while gaming saw a growth of 9% and NFT applications rose by 10%. In contrast, the inactivity rate of high-risk applications significantly decreased by 40%, indicating that they are still in use. In the AI sector, the number of inactive applications surged by 129%, although this corresponds to only 16 applications, highlighting the early-stage challenges these projects (especially in gaming and AI) face, as well as the general difficulties in user retention in the Web3 space.

2. The total value locked in DeFi surged to $200 billion, while the financing amount plummeted.

The total locked value of DeFi this quarter surpassed $200 billion, with a quarter-on-quarter growth of 28%. This growth aligns with the overall rebound of the cryptocurrency market, with Bitcoin rising by 30% compared to the last quarter and Ethereum climbing by 36%. The total market capitalization of cryptocurrencies increased by 25% quarter-on-quarter.

The total locked value of major blockchains has mostly recorded steady growth, with only Tron showing an 8% decline. Ethereum continues to hold the leading position in the DeFi sector with a 62% market share, while Solana ranks second with a 10% share.

Hyperliquid L1 performed the best, with TVL soaring by 547%. This high-performance Layer 1 blockchain, designed for on-chain perpetual contracts and spot trading, utilizes the HyperBFT consensus model inspired by HotStuff.

However, the financing amount in the DeFi sector has seen a significant decline. This quarter raised only $483 million, a decrease of 50% compared to the previous quarter. From 2025 to date, DeFi projects have raised approximately $1.4 billion in funding. Although this figure is lower than the explosive growth of past cycles, it still demonstrates a sustained interest in the sector from investors, which may indicate a more mature direction for capital allocation.

3. NFT sales volume surges but transaction value declines, RWA and gaming lead market transformation

The NFT market this quarter has shown a complex situation. The trading volume plummeted by 45%, but the number of transactions increased by 78%. This phenomenon confirms that NFTs are becoming more affordable, and the market's enthusiasm has not faded; rather, it has shifted in nature.

The trading volume of personal avatar NFTs has suffered a heavy blow, plummeting by 72%. Meanwhile, RWA NFTs have jumped to second place on the trading volume leaderboard with a 29% increase. The trading volume of art NFTs has decreased by 51%, but the transaction volume has surged by 400%, indicating that the prices of artworks have significantly dropped, making art NFTs more accessible to average buyers.

Domain NFTs have recently made a comeback, with both trading volume and sales surging. This growth primarily comes from the TON blockchain ecosystem, where Telegram users are eager to purchase anonymous domain names based on digital numbers. These domain names, which can be linked to Telegram accounts without the need for a SIM card, meet specific demands and have sparked market enthusiasm.

The average monthly NFT traders this quarter reached 668,598, an increase of 20% compared to the previous quarter. The phenomenon of a surge in sales indicates that users are steadily returning to the NFT space, although the driving forces may differ from past booms.

Despite a significant drop in trading volume, OpenSea still maintains its leading position. Its sales growth is closely related to the upcoming SEA token airdrop announcement. Many users are actively trading low-priced NFT collectibles to earn points, trying to maximize future reward benefits.

The Courtyard platform has rapidly risen to the second position in the industry, clearly indicating that the RWA narrative is not only gaining momentum in the DeFi space but is also creating waves in the NFT sector. The tokenization of real-world assets could become a key catalyst driving NFTs into the mainstream.

It is worth noting that the Guild of Guardians game NFT collection has topped the quarterly trading volume rankings for the first time, surpassing blue-chip projects like CryptoPunks and Bored Apes. This confirms the overall trend that the NFT market activity in the second quarter was primarily driven by RWA and gaming assets.

4. Security incident losses hit a record high, exposing industry vulnerabilities

In the second quarter of 2025, the Web3 sector lost $6.3 billion due to hacker attacks and security vulnerabilities, an increase of 215% compared to the previous quarter, marking one of the heaviest losses since the collapse of FTX.

87% of the losses came from a single event: the Mantra crash incident. There were only 31 security incidents throughout the year, but the severity of a single case raised the overall losses. This has raised questions about the industry's security and risk management capabilities.

The top five security incidents this quarter include:

1. Mantra Insider Selling Incident (April 13): The price of the token OM plummeted by over 90%, with a market capitalization of $5.5 billion evaporating instantly.
2. Individual user private key theft incident (April 28): A user lost 3,520 bitcoins (approximately $330.7 million) due to a social engineering attack.
3. Cetus Protocol Hack Incident (May 22): Sui ecosystem DEX was attacked, resulting in a loss of $260 million.
4. Nobitex Exchange Hacking Incident (June 18): The Iranian exchange was attacked, resulting in losses exceeding 82 million USD.
5. UPCX Protocol Vulnerability Incident (April 1): Attackers infiltrated the ProxyAdmin smart contract and stole approximately $70 million.

These events highlight the significant challenges the industry still faces regarding security. Developers, investors, and users need to remain vigilant, enhance their security awareness, and proceed with caution. Using tools like DappRadar to verify project reliability is also a good starting point.

5. Conclusion

In the second quarter of 2025, the DApp industry will enter a phase of consolidation and transformation. Although overall activity remains stable, user behavior and the dominant sectors of the industry are undergoing significant changes. AI and social DApps are rapidly rising under the impetus of emerging narratives. The NFT sector is also transforming, with RWA and gaming assets taking the lead, marking a shift in the field from speculative hype to practical value.