Ethereum and Bitcoin are two of the most popular and widely used cryptocurrencies in the world. While Ethereum has gained a reputation as the king of smart contracts and the primary hub for DeFi and NFT activity, on-chain data suggests that Bitcoin is ahead in terms of user engagement. This can be interpreted by the number of daily active users and the level of network activity, indicated by the number of daily transactions confirmed.
According to data from Artemis Terminal on September 15, Bitcoin, despite primarily serving as a transactional layer for value transfer between addresses, has more daily active users than Ethereum. This is interesting because Ethereum not only facilitates the transfer of assets, similar to Bitcoin, but also acts as a smart contract platform for deploying decentralized applications (dapps) that are trustless and automated. Some popular dapps, like Uniswap, a decentralized exchange (DEX), process billions of dollars’ worth of transactions every month.
On September 15, Bitcoin had over 800,000 daily active addresses (DAA), which is more than twice the number on Ethereum, which stood at slightly over 378,000. The only time there was a slight change in this trend was on September 13, when over 1 million addresses were activated on Ethereum. However, since late August, Ethereum’s DAA has been fluctuating significantly, while Bitcoin has maintained an upward trajectory.
When it comes to the number of daily transactions processed, Ethereum outshines Bitcoin. As of September 15, Ethereum had processed over 1 million transactions, compared to Bitcoin’s confirmation of less than 600,000 transactions. However, it is worth noting that Ethereum’s transaction count has been declining in recent days. On September 13, the network processed over 2.3 million transactions, but it has since fallen below half that number. In contrast, Bitcoin’s daily transactions have remained relatively stable over the past few months.
Daily active addresses and daily transaction count are important metrics that on-chain analysts use to assess the level of engagement and health of public blockchains. These metrics indicate the level of activity and usage on the networks. In the past 18 months, activity on Ethereum has experienced a significant decline due to falling asset prices during the crypto winter. Ethereum’s drop from around $5,000 in late November 2021 to as low as $1,500 in 2022 had a negative impact on DeFi and NFT activity.
According to DeFiLlama, the total value locked (TVL) in DeFi protocols has stabilized below $50 billion, down from its peak of around $180 billion in 2021. Additionally, trading volume has decreased by over 90%, affecting the value of NFT-related projects such as Immutable X and ApeCoin. For example, ApeCoin has experienced a 96% decline from its peak value.
In conclusion, while Ethereum may be the king of smart contracts and the primary hub for DeFi and NFTs, Bitcoin surpasses it in terms of daily active users and consistent network activity. However, Ethereum still leads in terms of the number of daily transactions processed. These metrics reflect the current state of engagement and usage on both blockchains.
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