DeFi and NFT Upticks in May Could Mark Start of Recovery

As Bitcoin surged to a brand new all-time excessive in Might, sparking momentum throughout cryptocurrencies, the decentralized app trade additionally noticed a revival.

In reality, DappRadar’s newest findings establish Might 2025 as a turning level for the dapp sector. Throughout the identical interval, the NFT market additionally noticed indicators of life.

Turning Level for the Dapp Ecosystem

In Might, the dapp trade exhibited renewed optimism because the each day Distinctive Lively Wallets (dUAW) rose 8% to 25 million, amid broader optimistic market traits. Notable progress was seen in three key sectors: AI dapps surged 23% to 4.8 million dUAW, social dapps grew 21% to 4.3 million, and NFT dapps elevated 9% to three.9 million.

These sector-specific features point out stronger consumer engagement and contribute to a extra balanced dapp ecosystem, in response to DappRadar’s report. In the meantime, AI, DeFi, and gaming dapps had been discovered to have been converging by way of consumer exercise, and every captured an identical share, which evidenced a diversified and maturing market

The DeFi sector additionally maintained robust progress because the Complete Worth Locked (TVL) surged by 25% to round $200 billion. This progress aligns with the general market rally, pushed by Bitcoin’s new all-time excessive and Ethereum’s 40% worth improve, which boosted DeFi asset values and liquidity.

Decentralized alternate Hyperliquid stood out by reaching $244 billion in buying and selling quantity, capturing about 10% of Binance’s market share regardless of large criticism from outstanding trade gamers after the controversial dealing with of a market manipulation incident. This achievement positioned Hyperliquid among the many prime 5 exchanges by buying and selling quantity, throughout each centralized and decentralized platforms, and inside the prime 10 by TVL throughout all blockchain networks.

NFT Market Rebounds

In the meantime, the NFT market showed renewed exercise in Might, with buying and selling quantity rising 40% month-over-month to $280 million. Transaction counts additionally climbed 35%, totaling 2.7 million. Though these figures sign bettering momentum, DappRadar mentioned that it’s untimely to name it a full restoration. Continued progress over the approaching months will likely be essential, however the latest features nonetheless provide a promising signal for the sector.

Ethereum regained its lead within the NFT market in Might, with a 30% bounce in buying and selling quantity and a 53% market share. It was adopted by Immutable zkEVM at 13% and Summary at 10%. Summary’s 1200% surge was largely pushed by hypothesis tied to farming incentives and potential airdrops.