Are NFTs Making a Comeback? DappRadar Report Shows Renewed Interest in Tokens and DeFi

According to the report, in the third quarter of 2025, users of decentralized applications made an average of 18.7 million active connections per day. This represents a 22.4% decrease compared to the previous quarter. Despite the drop, DappRadar recorded a noticeable shift in activity structure: the share of gaming applications increased, while NFTs and DeFi once again took a significant position in the ecosystem.

Gaming projects accounted for 25% of all active applications, compared to 20.1% in the second quarter. Analysts noted that most of these games include DeFi elements, such as token staking or yield from in-game assets. NFTs made up 18.5% of activity, while DeFi accounted for 17.9%.

Segments related to artificial intelligence and social protocols declined during the period. Activity in the AI category dropped sharply following reduced interest in Virtuals Protocol, which attracted up to 10,000 active wallets per day in the second quarter but only 1,000–1,500 in the third. The platform’s average daily transaction volume was around $100,000.

Social applications, including The Arena, Layer3, and OnchainGm, lost half their audience, falling to 1.57 million active wallets per day. At the same time, utility solutions such as the payment platform Kai-Ching maintained strong user engagement.

NFT Market Approaches 2022 Levels

After a prolonged downturn, interest in NFTs has returned. In the third quarter, 18.1 million NFTs were sold through decentralized applications, up from 12.5 million in the previous quarter. Trading activity reached $1.6 billion in volume, signaling a market recovery to 2022 levels.

The number of wallets interacting with NFTs increased by 28%, reaching 2.14 million. On average, each holder owned eight tokens. Overall sales volume grew 158% quarter over quarter.

Buyers increasingly preferred inexpensive NFTs for collecting and entertainment rather than investment. Interest also shifted from gaming NFTs to sports-related assets, including Sorare’s collection linked to football players and other athletes.

The OpenSea platform saw an 88% rise in activity during the third quarter, while Blur recorded a 178% increase compared to the previous one. Amid speculation about a potential airdrop of its native token, users became more active in trading and reissuing NFTs.

The Moonbirds collection once again drew attention after Yuga Labs sold part of its assets to Orange Cap Games. The project team announced plans to launch the BIRB token on the Solana network.

NFTs Become Part of DeFi Infrastructure

A new trend is emerging within the ecosystem — the integration of NFTs into DeFi protocols. Tokens are increasingly being used for asset tokenization, digital identity creation, and digitized replicas of physical collectibles.

For example, the CryptoPunks collection now serves as the basis for the PUNKSTR token, which reflects the value of the original NFTs without requiring direct ownership. This development shows how NFTs are gradually evolving from collectible items into an integral component of decentralized finance infrastructure.

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