The rise of AI agent applications is strong, with RWA and gaming driving the transformation of the NFT market.

The DApp ecosystem showed a complex situation in the second quarter: AI agent applications rapidly emerged, the NFT market was dominated by RWA and gaming assets, the total locked value in DeFi increased but financing amounts significantly declined, while security incidents caused huge losses exposing the industry's vulnerabilities.

Despite the rebound in cryptocurrency market prices, the DApp ecosystem is showing a trend of diversified development. AI agent applications are experiencing explosive growth, the value focus of NFTs is shifting from ostentation to functionality, and DeFi is seeking a balance between rising TVL and shrinking financing. These data not only reflect market activity but also reveal user migration, lagging sectors, and key trends that are reshaping the future of DApps.

The current market is no longer driven purely by speculation. Users are starting to pursue real value, whether it is AI agents that complete tasks, NFTs associated with RWA, or DeFi platforms that provide sustainable returns. However, risks remain high, with frequent exploitation incidents causing huge losses, highlighting the fragility of trust.

This report provides an in-depth analysis of changes in the industry landscape, comprehensively exploring data dynamics in areas such as DeFi, NFT, gaming, and AI. From wallet activity, transaction volume to application and capital flows, we track key signals and focus on the core narratives shaping the cryptocurrency industry in the second quarter of 2025.

Key Data

• The average number of active unique wallets for DApps is 24.3 million, a decrease of 2.5% month-on-month, and an increase of 247% compared to the beginning of 2024.
• The total locked value in DeFi reached $200 billion, with a quarter-on-quarter growth of 28%, benefiting from a 36% rebound in Ethereum. The financing amount in the DeFi sector declined by 50% quarter-on-quarter, with only $483 million raised in the second quarter.
• NFT trading volume decreased by 45% to $867 million, but the number of sales increased by 78% to 14.9 million, reflecting a decline in market average price and a 20% increase in the number of traders.
• RWA NFT trading volume increased by 29%, ranking second. Courtyard has become the second largest NFT trading platform this quarter.
• The trading volume of Guild of Guardians NFT ranks first and fourth, surpassing BAYC and CryptoPunks, marking the rise of gaming NFTs.
• Web3 lost $6.3 billion due to security incidents, an increase of 215% compared to the previous period. The Mantra vulnerability exploitation case caused a loss of $5.5 billion, making it the second-largest security incident in the crypto industry after the FTX bankruptcy.

The number of daily active independent wallets for DApps remains at 24 million, with significant growth in the AI and social sectors.

This quarter, the activity level of DApps has slightly decreased by 2.5%, with an average of 24.3 million daily active unique wallets. This level reflects the industry's increasing maturity, as users continue to interact with DApps across multiple application domains. It is worth noting that many users operate multiple wallets, so this metric differs from the actual number of users, but it remains an important indicator of 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 broader industry trends.

In the Social domain, the rise of InfoFi is noteworthy, with platforms like Kaito and Cookie DAO standing out. In the AI sector, agent-based DApps are showing strong momentum, with Virtuals Protocol being particularly outstanding.

These sector changes have also affected the distribution of market dominance. The decline in activity in the DeFi and Gaming sectors has led to a reduction in their market share, while the AI and Social sectors have expanded their share. Compared to the first quarter, the rise of the AI sector is 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.

In fact, the number one independent wallet this quarter is an AI DApp. The rest of the list is mostly occupied by well-known DeFi projects, which have maintained long-term stable operations during the Meme coin boom and Agent token boom.

In addition, we have added the "Dormant DApp" metric to track applications that were active in the first quarter but completely ceased activity in the second quarter. The number of inactive DApps in the DeFi sector increased by 2%, while the gaming category grew by 9%, and NFT applications rose by 10%. The inactivity rate of high-risk applications, on the other hand, significantly decreased by 40%, indicating that they are still in continuous use. Most unexpectedly, in the AI sector, inactive AI applications surged by 129%, although it only corresponds to 16 applications. This highlights that current projects (especially in gaming and AI) are still in the early stages of development and lack the financial support to achieve mainstream application. User retention remains the biggest challenge in the Web3 space, and this data confirms that.

In the second quarter of 2025, the total locked value in DeFi rose to 200 billion USD, but the financing amount dropped by 50%.

This quarter has seen significant fluctuations in the macro economy, and the DeFi sector has not been able to escape unscathed. Nevertheless, the market still shows positive signals: the crypto market price has rebounded strongly, with Bitcoin rising 30% compared to the last quarter and Ethereum climbing 36%, while the total market capitalization of cryptocurrencies has increased by 25% quarter-on-quarter. The total value locked in DeFi has surpassed $200 billion, achieving a quarter-on-quarter growth of 28%.

Observing the TVL performance of various major blockchains, most chains recorded steady growth, with only Tron experiencing an 8% decline. In terms of market share, Ethereum firmly leads with an absolute advantage of 62%, followed by Solana at 10%.

The standout of this quarter is Hyperliquid L1, with TVL soaring by 547%. This high-performance Layer 1 blockchain is designed specifically for on-chain perpetual contracts and spot trading, utilizing the HyperBFT consensus model inspired by HotStuff.

The DeFi sector has raised a total of $483 million, a 50% decrease from the previous quarter. So far in 2025, DeFi projects have secured approximately $1.4 billion in funding. Although the explosive growth seen in previous cycles has slowed, it still indicates a stable interest in the sector, which may suggest a more mature direction for capital allocation.

NFT sales increased by 78% but trading volume declined: RWA and gaming lead market transformation

This quarter, NFT transaction volume decreased by 45%, but transaction count increased by 78%. This confirms the long-observed trend: NFTs are becoming more affordable, and while market enthusiasm has not faded, its nature is shifting.

The trading volume of personal avatar NFTs plummeted by 72%. RWA NFTs surged to the second position in trading volume with a 29% increase. The trading volume of art NFTs decreased by 51%, but the transaction volume skyrocketed by 400%, indicating a significant drop in art prices, making it more favorable for ordinary buyers.

The trading volume and sales of domain NFTs have both risen sharply, mainly driven by the TON public chain ecosystem. Telegram users are rushing to purchase anonymous domain names based on digital numbers, allowing accounts to be linked without the need to bind a SIM card. This specific demand scenario has sparked market enthusiasm.

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

Despite the significant drop in trading volume, OpenSea remains in the lead, with its sales volume rising in sync with the Courtyard platform. OpenSea's growth is related to the upcoming launch of the SEA token, and many users are actively trading low-priced NFTs to earn points, trying to maximize future rewards.

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

A game NFT collection has topped the quarterly trading volume for the first time. Guild of Guardians not only made it into the top five but also claimed two spots, surpassing blue-chip projects like CryptoPunks and BAYC. This confirms the overall trend: the NFT market activity in the second quarter was mainly driven by RWA and gaming assets.

In the second quarter, a loss of 6.3 billion USD due to a vulnerability attack set the most severe record since the FTX collapse.

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 worst loss records since the FTX collapse. 87% of the losses came from the single incident of Mantra's plunge. There were only 31 security incidents throughout the year, but the severity of individual cases inflated the overall losses.

The five major security incidents this quarter:

1. Mantra Insider Selling Incident (April 13): The price of token OM plummeted by over 90%, with a market value evaporation of $5.5 billion. Confirmed to be caused by coordinated selling by internal personnel.

2. Personal 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 Hacker Incident (May 22): Sui ecosystem DEX was attacked, resulting in a loss of $260 million, the platform token plummeted by over 90%, and smart contract activities were suspended.

4. Nobitex Exchange Hacking Incident (June 18): Iranian crypto exchange was attacked, resulting in losses exceeding $82 million. A pro-Israel hacker group claimed responsibility.

5. UPCX protocol vulnerability incident (April 1): Attackers infiltrated the ProxyAdmin contract, illegally upgraded it, abused administrator privileges, and stole 18.4 million UPC (approximately 70 million USD).

These events are frustrating and raise doubts about industry progress. However, many projects are actively advancing more robust security infrastructure, audits, and emergency response plans.

As developers, investors, and users, we need to be aware of security, remain vigilant, and act with caution. Using tools like DappRadar to verify interactive projects is essential, although it is not