2025 Q2 DApp Market Report: Rise of AI Applications, RWA and Gaming Driving New Trends in NFT

The cryptocurrency market is experiencing a price recovery, but the DApp ecosystem shows a trend of diversification: AI applications are growing rapidly, the value of NFTs is shifting from ostentation to practicality, and DeFi is navigating between rising total locked value and tightening funding. These data reveal key trends in user flow, field transitions, and the reshaping of the future of DApps.

The current market is no longer driven solely by speculation. Users are seeking real value: AI agents that can accomplish tasks, NFTs linked to physical assets, and DeFi platforms that provide sustainable returns. However, risks still exist: losses from security vulnerabilities have surged, revealing a fragile trust, and minor oversights could be maliciously exploited.

This report provides an in-depth analysis of data dynamics in fields such as DeFi, NFT, gaming, and AI. It comprehensively tracks key signals from wallet activity, trading volume to application and capital flow, with a focus on observing the core narratives shaping the cryptocurrency industry in the second quarter of 2025.

Overview of Key Points:

• In Q2 2025, the average number of daily active unique wallets for DApps is 24.3 million, a decrease of 2.5% compared to the previous quarter, but an increase of 247% compared to the beginning of 2024.
• The total locked value in DeFi reached $200 billion, with a quarterly increase of 28%, mainly benefiting from a 36% increase in Ethereum. However, the financing amount in DeFi dropped by 50% quarter-on-quarter, with only $483 million in Q2 and a total of $1.4 billion in the first two quarters of 2025.
• NFT transaction volume fell by 45% to $867 million, but sales increased by 78% to 14.9 million transactions, reflecting a significant drop in average prices, while the number of traders rose by 20%.
• RWA NFT trading volume increased by 29%, rising to second place, with Courtyard becoming the second largest NFT market in Q2.
• Guild of Guardians NFT trading volume surged to the top and fourth place, surpassing BAYC and CryptoPunks, marking a turning point for game NFTs.
• Web3 lost $6.3 billion due to security incidents, a 215% increase compared to the previous period. Mantra's single event loss was $5.5 billion, making it the second largest security incident since the $8 billion loss from the FTX bankruptcy (.

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1. The number of active independent wallets for DApps remains stable at 24 million, with significant growth in the AI and social fields.

The DApp activity level slightly decreased by 2.5% this quarter, with an average of 24.3 million daily active unique wallets. The ecosystem remains stable at this level, reflecting the industry's increasing maturity as users continue to interact with DApps across multiple domains. Although this metric differs from the actual number of users, it remains a strong indicator of engagement. Just a few quarters ago, the number of daily active unique wallets was around 5 million, showing significant growth.

The number of active wallets in DeFi and GameFi has decreased, with DeFi down by 33% and GameFi down by 17%. Social and AI-related DApps have seen growth, in line with broader industry trends.

In the social domain, the rise of InfoFi is noteworthy, with platforms like Kaito and Cookie DAO leading the way. In the AI field, agent-based DApps are performing strongly, with Virtuals Protocol standing out.

These sector changes have affected the distribution of market share. The shares of DeFi and Gaming have decreased, while AI and Social have expanded their shares. Compared to Q1 2025, AI is rising rapidly, with Social closely following. It is expected that by the end of the year, AI may surpass either Gaming or DeFi.

![2025 Q2 DApp Market Report: AI Agent Applications Dominate, RWA and Games Drive NFT Recovery])https://img-cdn.gateio.im/webp-social/moments-0e40d6f1dd3d8dc120cb2157d0fe7712.webp(

In fact, the number one independent wallet in Q2 is an AI DApp. The remaining spots on the list are mostly well-known DeFi projects, which have maintained long-term stable operations amid the Meme coin craze and Agent token frenzy.

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We have added the "Dormant DApp" indicator to track applications that were active in Q1 2025 but completely ceased activities in Q2. The non-active applications in DeFi increased by 2%, games by 9%, and NFTs by 10%. The non-activity rate of high-risk applications decreased by 40%, indicating continued use and less abandonment. Non-active applications in the AI field surged by 129%, but in reality, there are only 16. This highlights that projects ), especially in gaming and AI, are still in the early stages of development, and lack of funding makes it difficult to achieve mainstream applications. User retention in the Web3 space remains the biggest challenge, and this data confirms that.

2. The total locked value of DeFi reached 200 billion USD in Q2 2025, with financing amount decreasing by 50%.

This season's macroeconomic turmoil has not spared DeFi. However, the market still shows positive signals: cryptocurrency prices have rebounded strongly, with Bitcoin up 30% and Ethereum up 36%, and a total market capitalization increase of 25%. The total locked value of DeFi has surpassed 200 billion USD, an increase of 28%.

The total locked value of major chains mostly increased, with only Tron dropping by 8%. Ethereum occupies 62% of the total TVL in DeFi, firmly in first place, followed by Solana with 10%.

Hyperliquid L1 performed the best, with TVL soaring by 547%. This high-performance Layer 1 is designed for on-chain perpetual contracts and spot trading, using the HyperBFT consensus model.

In Q2, DeFi financing reached $483 million, a 50% decrease compared to Q1. From 2025 to date, DeFi projects have raised $1.4 billion in financing. Although the growth has slowed compared to previous cycles, it indicates that there is still interest from capital in this field, which may suggest a more mature direction for capital allocation. The trend seems to be stabilizing.

3. NFT sales increased by 78% but trading volume decreased: RWA and gaming lead market transformation

In Q2, NFT trading volume decreased by 45%, but the transaction volume increased by 78%. NFTs are trending towards parity, but market enthusiasm has not diminished, and the nature has shifted.

The trading volume of personal avatar NFTs dropped by 72%. RWA NFTs increased by 29%, rising to second place. The trading volume of art NFTs decreased by 51%, while transaction volume increased by 400%, indicating a significant price drop, making them more accessible.

Domain NFTs are making a comeback, with both trading volume and sales increasing. This is mainly driven by the TON public blockchain, where Telegram users are vying to purchase anonymous domains based on digital numbers. Such domains can be linked to Telegram accounts without the need for a SIM card, catering to specific needs.

The average monthly NFT traders are 668,598, an increase of 20% compared to the previous quarter. The surge in sales indicates that users are steadily returning to the NFT space, and their motivations may differ from the past.

OpenSea remains at the forefront, with sales rising in sync with Courtyard. The growth of OpenSea is related to the news of the SEA token airdrop. Courtyard has quickly risen to second place, indicating that the RWA narrative is gaining traction in the NFT space.

Guild of Guardians has topped the quarterly trading volume leaderboard for the first time, surpassing CryptoPunks and BAYC. This confirms that the Q2 NFT market is primarily driven by RWA and gaming assets.

4. Q2 lost $6.3 billion due to a vulnerability attack, one of the worst quarters after the FTX collapse.

In Q2 2025, Web3 lost $6.3 billion due to hacker attacks and security vulnerabilities, an increase of 215% compared to the previous quarter, marking one of the heaviest losses since the FTX collapse.

87% of the losses came from the Mantra crash event. There were 31 security incidents throughout the year, but the severity of a single case raised the overall losses.

Top five events before Q2:

1. Mantra insider sell-off on April 13, (: OM price plummeted by 90%, with a market value evaporation of $5.5 billion. Confirmed as a coordinated sell-off by insiders.
2. The private key of an individual user was stolen on April 28, ): due to a social engineering attack, a user was robbed of 3520 BTC, approximately 330.7 million USD.
3. Cetus Protocol hacking incident ( May 22 ): Sui ecosystem DEX was hacked for $260 million, platform token dropped 90%, smart contract suspended.
4. Nobitex exchange hacking incident ( on June 18, ): Iranian exchange lost 82 million USD. Pro-Israel hacker group claims responsibility.
5. UPCX Protocol Vulnerability ( April 1 ): An attacker infiltrated the ProxyAdmin contract, illegally upgraded it, abused permissions, and stole 18.4 million UPC ( approximately 70 million USD ).

These events are frustrating and raise doubts about industry progress. However, many projects are actively improving security infrastructure, audits, and emergency response plans.

Developers, investors, and users should be aware of security and remain vigilant. Using tools like DappRadar to verify interactive projects is not foolproof, but it's a good starting point.

5. Conclusion

In Q2 2025, DApps will enter a new stage of integration and transformation. Overall activity remains stable, but user behavior and dominant sectors have clearly shifted. AI and social DApps are rising under the promotion of emerging narratives such as InfoFi and AI agent economy. NFTs are shifting towards RWA and gaming assets, indicating a transition from speculation to practical value.

DeFi maintains its core position with TVL growth and price recovery, but capital is cooling down. The surge in losses from security vulnerabilities serves as a reminder for the industry to focus on security measures.

Users haven't left, they just choose different ways to experience. The current challenge is to create DApps that are attractive, safe, sustainable, and create real value. We will continue to pay attention to these development trends.