In the first quarter of 2025, applications built on blockchain technology generated more than $2.6 billion in revenue, according to a recent report on the crypto sector.
This amount reflects a staggering 99% increase compared to the same period last year, indicating a growing demand for on-chain services, even amidst the volatile market conditions that have affected the industry.
The report noted that the performance of smart contract platforms was inconsistent throughout the quarter due to fluctuating market dynamics. It was highlighted that trading of memecoins on Solana diminished early in the year, which contributed to a drop in several user engagement metrics.
Despite the decline in memecoin trading, Solana still attracted a substantial number of users. Data indicated that the platform averaged close to 90 million monthly active users in Q1, a decrease from a spike of 140 million in late Q4 2024.
Even with the reduction in memecoin transactions, Solana earned roughly $390 million in revenue from transaction fees during the quarter. This amount constituted nearly half of total revenues across smart contract platforms, highlighting the strong utility and growing impact of the blockchain.