Data & Insights: TON Ecosystem Growth, Rising Stablecoin Volumes, and the Evolving DEX Landscape

A Ton of Activity

• The founder of Telegram, Pavel Durov, was arrested by French authorities on August 24, 2024.
  • In an interesting turn of events since then, activity within the TON network has increased at an exponential rate, particularly in terms of network transactions and the number of active addresses within the network.
• The 7-day moving average (7DMA) of daily transactions on the TON network has reached a new all-time high this week.
  • The network saw a new all-time high of 8.68 million transactions last Saturday on August 31st, surpassing the previous record of 8.56 million from December, 17, 2024.
  • Throughout this last week, this figure has continued to increase, reaching upwards of 10 million transactions on Friday, 6 September, 2024.
  • This figure has now increased by over 160% since the Telegram founder was arrested on 24 August.
• The 7-day moving average (7DMA) of the daily number of active addresses on the TON network has also seen record-high
  • As of Friday, September 6, 2024, the TON network has seen ~701.8K active addresses.
  • This represents a 6% increase compared to the previous Friday, following this figure doubling since Pavel’s arrest.
• However, unlike the network activity, the price of the TON token itself has not responded well to Pavel’s arrest.
  • The TON token is currently down over 30% since the incident.
  • While poor wider market conditions may have played a role in this downturn as well, the effects of the arrest cannot be discounted as TON fell by ~20% in the 3 hours following the news.

Slowly Stablecoin(ing)

• Ethereum's on-chain stablecoin volume has hit an impressive all-time high of $1.46 trillion, especially considering the wider market conditions. Stable volumes have more than doubled from $650 billion at the start of the year. 
  • DAI, the decentralized stablecoin, is leading the charge with a staggering $960 billion in volume. This surge underscores the growing appetite for decentralized finance solutions and could indicate increasing trust in algorithmic stablecoins.
  • However, when filtered, DAI volume ranks behind USDT and USDC, suggesting that there is likely wash trading and numerous transfers. 
  • Meanwhile, the new kid on the block, PYUSD, has flexed its muscles, growing from $500 million to $2.4 billion. PayPal's incentive programs seem to be paying off, highlighting how traditional finance giants are looking to explore crypto. 
  • USDC and USDT continue to hold their ground, providing the sturdy infrastructure that much of DeFi is built upon.
• The growth in stablecoin usage is more hopefully indicative of a maturing ecosystem. 
  • Higher stablecoin volumes mean deeper liquidity pools, reducing slippage and improving overall market efficiency.
  • Stablecoins are the lifeblood of DeFi, powering everything from lending protocols to yield farming. This surge could suggest a healthier, more robust DeFi ecosystem.
  • As more users engage with on-chain stablecoins, we're seeing a bridge form between traditional finance and the crypto world. It's not just crypto natives anymore—it's everyone from curious newcomers to institutional players.
  • The competition between stablecoins (centralized, decentralized, and everything in between) is driving rapid innovation in design, governance, and use cases. While stablecoins like USDC and USDT have seen some dominance, their business models are now challenged by newcomers like Mountain Protocol, which aims to redistribute interest yield generated from fiat deposits back to its token holders. 
• As on-chain activity continues to grow, stablecoins are proving to be the steady hand guiding users through the often turbulent market conditions. While the rest of the market may be slipping, the bright side is that stablecoins are still thriving. 

DEXversity

• The DEX landscape is undergoing some diversification, with Uniswap's once-dominant market share facing a steady erosion. This change-up in market share could signal more competition and innovation in decentralized trading.
  • Uniswap's market share has slipped from a commanding 50%+ in October 2023 to just 36% today. 
  • As Uniswap's slice of the pie shrinks, newcomers are hungrily gobbling up market share. Aerodrome, riding the wave of Base Layer 2's impressive growth, has carved out a respectable 7% of the market. Other winners from Uniswaps slip include Orca, which grew from 9% at the start of the year to 12% last month.
  • The slow chipping of Uniswap's market share by smaller challenger Dexes signals a sustainable change as users are finding and moving to more competitive Dexes with longer-term advantages instead of short-term incentives. 
  • The wider DEX sector as a whole is thriving. Monthly trading volumes achieved $140 billion last month, highlighting the appetite for decentralized trading solutions.
• This diversification of the DEX landscape could be a catalyst for innovation and user empowerment:
  • Competitive Innovation: The rise of challenger protocols is forcing established players like Uniswap to stay on their toes. While Uniswap recently teased a fee-sharing model with token holders, regulatory concerns quickly dampened these plans, highlighting the complex landscape DEXs must navigate.
  • User Benefits: More competition means better features, improved tooling, and potentially lower fees for end-users. This race to the top is ultimately a win for the crypto community.
  • Ecosystem Resilience: A more diverse DEX ecosystem reduces single points of failure and fosters a more robust, antifragile DeFi landscape.
  • Tailored Solutions: Different DEXs can cater to niche markets or specific user needs, leading to a more nuanced and user-friendly DeFi experience.
• Building a successful DEX isn't just about fancy algorithms—it's about creating a compelling user experience, ensuring deep liquidity, and navigating the regulatory minefield. Strategies for success include:
  • Incentive programs to attract liquidity providers
  • User-friendly interfaces that simplify complex DeFi concepts
  • Novel features like limit orders or cross-chain swaps
  • Strategic partnerships with DeFi protocols
• As the DEX wars draw more diversity, the future of decentralized trading seems bright as market leaders are challenged to continuously innovate and provide better user experiences.

I Don’t Fee-l So Good 

• The total fees generated by the Solana network have hit a six-month low, with figures not seen since early March 2024.
  • Note that in this case, we are looking at the fees generated in terms of SOL in order to maintain consistency irrespective of the price fluctuations of SOL itself.
  • On August 31, 2024, the Solana network generated just ~3,800 SOL in fees for the day.
  • This figure has since rebounded slightly, but not by any meaningful amount.
  • As of Friday, September 6, 2024, Solana’s daily fees generated stood at just ~4,000 SOL.
  • This is a far cry from periods throughout Q2 2024, where the network easily averaged over 10,000 SOL in fees per day.
  • Jito validator tips also saw six-month lows this week, with just 2.61K SOL on Friday. The last time this figure was this low was towards the end of February 2024.
• It is interesting to note how the pattern of average daily fees generated in Solana follows closely to the popularity and presence of pump.fun
  • This figure is currently back to March 2024 levels, which was before pump.fun rose in popularity.
  • The decline in generated fees coincided with the similarly dwindling popularity of pump.fun indicates a direct correlation between the two.
• This is further proved by the revenue of pump.fun having fallen off a cliff in recent weeks
  • As of Friday, September 6, 2024, pump.fun had generated just $409K in fees.
  • Compared to its peak on July 30, 2024, where it generated $2.31 million in a single day, pump.fun’s revenue on Friday represents an ~82% drop-off.
  • Since the end of July 2024, the price of SOL has also gone down by ~35% at the time of writing.

Aptos: The Blockchain that Keeps on Giving (Data)

• Aptos, the Layer 1 blockchain is showing signs of growth amidst a tepid crypto market. But as with all things in the world of blockchain, the devil is in the details—and the data.
  • Aptos clocked in a whopping 5.4 million active monthly addresses, a figure that would make even some of the more established chains blush.
  • The platform also hit a high note with 578 million user transactions last month, suggesting a hive of activity buzzing within its ecosystem.
  • Meanwhile, the APT token has shown resilience, with a modest but positive 4.9% uptick in the last twelve months—no small feat in a market that's seen its fair share of ups and downs.
• While these numbers paint a picture of a thriving ecosystem, it's crucial to approach on-chain metrics with a healthy dose of skepticism:
  • Bot activity or airdrops can sometimes inflate high transaction counts and active addresses. 
  • A high number of transactions doesn't necessarily equate to meaningful economic activity. It’s another fan-favorite metric, but we must always be cognizant of how easy it is to mislead. 
  • Promotional activities and token distributions can cause temporary spikes in activity. It’s always interesting to track to see if volumes and activities continue post-airdrop or if the hype dies down. 
  • Rapid growth can be exciting, but sustainable ecosystems need a balance of new users and retained, engaged participants.
• As we navigate the sea of blockchain data, it's essential to remember that numbers, while illuminating, don't tell the whole story. The true measure of a blockchain's success lies in its ability to solve real-world problems, foster innovation, and build a sustainable ecosystem.