Latest research by DappRadar highlights the growing importance of the DeFi and NFT sectors in driving adoption and innovation across the crypto and blockchain sectors, especially through Q3 2021. The blockchain industry worldwide posted an impressive 25% growth QoQ between June and September this year and a whopping 509% growth YoY.

The average daily Unique Active Wallets (UAW) across blockchain networks was 1.54 million, going up to 1.7 million for the month of September. Overall trading volume in NFTs alone touched $10.67 billion for the third quarter of the year, rising by 704% since the previous quarter. Axie Infinity went onto become the most traded NFT collection till date, raking up a record trading volume of more than $2 billion during Q3.

In addition to DeFi and NFTs, another interesting avenue that contributed to the stellar growth seen in the blockchain industry is the Play-to-Earn or GameFi sector. UAW connecting to game dApps surged by 140% QoQ. In comparison, wallets connected to DeFi and NFT actually posted a drop by 11% and 2% in comparison with the previous quarter. Although, usage of wallets across these sectors continued to grow.

Meanwhile, the total value locked (TVL) across DeFi projects surved by 53.45% QoQ, exceeding $178 billion during the previous quarter. The rising popularity of other blockchains such as Solana, Terra and Avalanche drove up the activity in the DeFi space. Ethereum continued to hold on to its lead, with almost 70% of the DeFi industry being supported on its ecosystem and causing its TVL to rise by 42.57%.

CEO at DappRadar, Skirmantas Januskas, remarks, “The blockchain industry saw quite some results in the past quarter — 25% UAW growth is no mean feat. But it’s the developments, the attitudes changing, the new trends emerging in those three short months that really scream ‘dapps got game‘.”