tl;dr
In Q1 2025, Ethereum led the decentralized application (DApp) platform sector with $1.021 billion in fee revenue, far surpassing competitors. Coinbase’s Layer-2 Base network ranked second with $193 million, followed by BNB Chain with $170 million, Arbitrum with $73.8 million, and Avalanche C-Chain w...
In Q1 2025, Ethereum led the decentralized application (DApp) platform sector with $1.021 billion in fee revenue, significantly outpacing competitors.
Coinbase’s Layer-2 network Base ranked second with $193 million, showing strong growth.
BNB Chain followed with $170 million, benefiting from low transaction costs and a diverse DApp ecosystem.
Arbitrum earned $73.8 million, driven by DeFi expansion and blockchain gaming.
Avalanche C-Chain generated $27.68 million, focusing on finance and NFTs but operating at a smaller scale than Ethereum.
Ethereum’s dominance stems from pioneering smart contract support, robust security, a large active DApp base with nearly 5,000 active applications, and a substantial DeFi ecosystem boasting $46 billion in Total Value Locked (TVL).
Despite high mainnet gas fees, Ethereum’s upgrades—such as the 2024 Dencun upgrade—have enhanced scalability and lowered Layer-2 transaction costs.
Other blockchains continue to grow but remain far behind Ethereum in both scale and revenue.
Base showed a 45% increase in DApp fee revenue from Q4 2024 to Q1 2025, signaling momentum.
BNB Chain maintains competitiveness thanks to affordability and variety in its DApp offerings, including popular platforms like PancakeSwap.
Arbitrum’s gains reflect the rising popularity of DeFi protocols and blockchain games.
Avalanche’s C-Chain has carved a niche in finance and NFTs but lacks Ethereum’s extensive ecosystem.
Overall, fee revenue serves as a key indicator of a blockchain’s usage and user value within the DApp market.
The sustained demand for Ethereum-based decentralized applications highlights the network’s entrenched leadership despite increasing competition and evolving technology landscapes.