Ethereum DeFi Users Reach New Highs Over 4M, Growing Roughly 8x in a Year

Data from Dune Analytics reveals that the number of decentralized finance (DeFi) users on Ethereum has hit a new all-time high of over four million. The number of users has been growing strong since the start of the year, which is a similar story in regard to other metrics.

The total number of users in the DeFi space on Ethereum has reached a new all-time high, crossing four million in the last week of November 2021. The data comes from Dune Analytics, which also shows that Uniswap is by far the most popular DeFi platform on Ethereum.

Uniswap has over three million users as of November 2021 and is the market’s most popular DEX. Other platforms and projects contributing significantly to the use of DeFi are SushiSwap, Compound, Aave, Balancer, and MakerDAO, among others. Most of these have user bases exceeding 300,000.

Market analysts and enthusiasts will not be surprised at the milestone, which is simply the result of the consistent growth of the DeFi space. More platforms and technological developments have boosted the adoption of DeFi, which is also making a mark on the mainstream.

The data itself provides good evidence of the extraordinary growth of DeFi, which began accelerating in Q4 2020. The number of users has grown roughly 8x over a 1 year period. 

DeFi has also caught some attention from regulators, who have referred to it in their bid to implement investor protection measures. DeFi loans seem to be a particular area of concern for lawmakers. So far, no law has come into place that restricts the market, but that may yet change as regulators focus more efforts on the market.

DeFi taking off on other networks as well

Ethereum is something of a home to DeFi, but that may not last for long. Several next-generation blockchain networks with higher throughput and lower gas costs are beginning to take shape. 

Both Solana and Cardano are seeing an increase in the number of decentralized finance-focused products, which could help boost the adoption of their ecosystems. The improved performance is something that certainly favors these networks, though Ethereum too has ETH 2.0 upgrades in the pipeline.

So far, there has been no killer product that has attracted investors as Ethereum and Binance Smart Chain have. But it’s still early days for those networks, and the Cardano ecosystem especially seems to be drawing up headlines for its efforts.
The success of the networks will only boost the value of DeFi up. Since 2021, DeFi’s TVL has risen by over 800%, hitting $200 billion in Oct. 2021. The next year is unlikely to see any dip in growth as technological improvements are made.