Revenue in the crypto industry is increasingly flowing to user-facing applications rather than the underlying blockchain networks, according to recent data, signaling a potential shift in where investors and developers focus their attention.
Decentralized finance (DeFi) applications now capture five times the fees generated by blockchains, according to data shared by Jamies Coutts, chief crypto analyst at crypto intelligence platform Real Vision.
The trend suggests that more of the industry’s fees will be captured by DeFi applications like wallets, decentralized exchanges (DEXs) and other protocols, while the underlying networks will attract a smaller share of revenue.
“While I am a believer that blockchain’s network effects will always command a premium, it makes sense that more value than what is currently ascribed should drift to the front end — wallets, DeFi apps, and protocols closest to users,” wrote Coutts in a Thursday X post.
Source: Jamie Coutts
The chart shows a significant increase in the fee share captured by DeFi protocols, up from roughly parity in mid 2024.
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DeFi apps and protocols become blockchain industry’s top 17 earners
Data compiled by DeFiLlama shows that DeFi protocols now dominate the rankings of the highest-earning crypto products. The top 17 fee-generating entities over the past 30 days were applications or protocols rather than base-layer blockchains.
Solana captured over $20.4 million in fees over the past 30 days and was the only blockchain in the top 20. However, this pales in comparison to the $563 million generated by stablecoin issuer Tether, the leading protocol by fees, according to DeFiLlama.
Top protocols and chains by fees generated over past 30 days. Source: DeFiLlama
Ethereum was the only other blockchain to make the top 30, with $10.3 million generated in 27th place.
The dynamic suggests that developers and institutional investors may show increasing attention to DeFi apps rather than the underlying blockchain layer, as applications attract a growing share of total revenue.
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Blockchains by active users, 30-day chart. Source: Nansen
Solana’s lead among the chains can be attributed to its activity, as Solana was the most-used network, with over 68 million active addresses during the past 30 days, up 14%, according to crypto intelligence platform Nansen.
Ethereum was in the sixth place, with 13 million active monthly addresses, up 53% during the past 30 days.
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