Crypto Activity Surge 300% to Hit Peak Levels — Details

• Venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) reports widespread crypto usage, with monthly active addresses rising 300% since September 2023. 
• The recent publication, a16z, reveals that mobile wallet usage and builder developer interest have hit uncharted territory since the last report. 
• a16z illustrates that political developments are essential in crypto as the US presidential election draws closer amid higher stablecoins utility after the enormous decline in Ethereum layer-2 gas fees. 

The recent edition by a16z illustrates that crypto usage is at its highest, with a massive surge witnessed in the past 12 months since the last publication. The report demonstrates that approximately 220M addresses interacted with blockchain technology in September. 

The report by the venture capital firm shows over 300% increment since end-year 2023. Nonetheless, a16z shows that users hold multiple accounts with active monthly users globally in the 30M – 60M bracket.

The annual report attributes the increased activity to the Solana ecosystem, accounting for the substantial number of addresses at 100M of the 200M units. Notably, a16z is a critical investor in Solana after leading the SOL private token sale with a market value of $300M in 2021. 

The report discloses that digital assets are a pertinent political issue as the US heads to the next month’s presidential election. Additionally, the report posits that stablecoins position themselves as product-market-fit as they are a constituent of blockchain killer apps’.

User Growth in DeFi 

The a16z report portrays Solana as the leading contributor of monthly active addresses at 100M units. NEAR ranks second with 31M, closely trailed by Coinbase L2 Base at 22M. The Tron’s 14 million addresses outperformed Bitcoin, which contributed 11 million. 

The report shows Solana topped in software developer growth with a16z, acknowledging 11.2% of founders indicating they build or plan to on the ecosystem. This represents a significant rise from the 5.1% choosing the platform last year. 

The report offered a disclaimer that the percentages reflect only the founders and builders interviewed by the firm. Such is essential given that a16z has close links to the Solana ecosystem, thus likely to cause skewed results. 

The report shows Ethereum retains the preferred destination for builders at 20.8%. Such represents a mild increase of 1.1% in the last 12 months. 

Mobile Wallet Usage Surge 

The mobile wallet usage rose substantially, with monthly users in June hitting 29 million. Although the US dominates mobile wallet usage at 12%, the growth is declining. In contrast, other markets are fueling the growth. 

Nigeria is leading in mobile wallet usage, driven by the government’s move to implement a crypto-friendly regulatory climate. India is riding on increasing cell phone adoption to realize substantial growth.

Lastly, Argentina emerges as a critical player as crypto emerges as an ideal alternative to overcome the fiat currency struggles. 

Political Influence in Crypto

According to Google search trends, the a16z report shows increased interest in digital assets. The surge is evident in critical battleground states in this November US election. 

The report shows swing states, including Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, will ascertain the election outcome. The two states witnessed the fourth and fifth-largest in crypto-related searches for four years. 

The report highlights the growing essence of stablecoins riding on the enhanced Ethereum layer-2 (L2) networks in reducing transaction fees by 99%. Such has led to massive expansion of stablecoins usefulness. 

The report illustrates the average gas fee incurred in the previous month declined from $12 in 2021 to $1. Sending USDC on the Coinbase’s Base results in costs averaging below $0.01 in gas fees. While other transaction fees could apply, still such additional costs are minimal compared to the $44 users incur to execute an international wire transfer.