The latest monthly report from Binance Research indicates the crypto market remained relatively unfazed in September, with Layer 2 scaling solutions recording notable increases in adoption.
Analysts highlighted the 18th consecutive month of declining stablecoin market capitalization, which sank below $123.8 billion—lows not seen since September 2021. Only Tether and Dai managed slight gains amidst the ongoing weakness. Interestingly, USDT and DAI deviated from this trend, experiencing slight increases in market capitalization despite the challenging market environment.
However, account abstraction usage rose significantly, with over 870,000 unique addresses interacting via protocols like ERC-4377. The majority of abstraction transactions occurred on Polygon, Arbitrum, and Optimism.
Binance cited renewed interest in Layer 2 ecosystems based on surging activity. For example, zkSync exceeded 30 million transactions in September, overtaking Ethereum’s volume.
Active addresses and transaction volumes on Arbitrum, Optimism swell
Arbitrum also witnessed healthy growth following the relaunch of its developer incentive campaign. Its ascent demonstrates the vital role Layer 2s play in advancing blockchain scalability, decentralization, and affordability.
Uniswap continued to lead the pack in Ethereum gas consumption over the last 30 days, showcasing its insatiable appetite for gas. Additionally, L2s witnessed a surge in activity, reflecting renewed interest in this sector and underscoring the increasingly significant role of Layer-2 solutions in advancing blockchain scalability.
The zkSync Era mainnet recorded a 30-day transaction volume of over 30.58 million, surpassing Ethereum. Arbitrum also demonstrated healthy traction in usage, attributed in part to the relaunch of its highly anticipated campaign, Arbitrum Odyssey.
Additionally, the report noted shifts in the composition of decentralized financial perpetual swap exchanges. Upstart ApolloX, challenging established rivals, captured over 450% more volume market share.
While macro conditions continue plaguing stablecoins, Layer 2 momentum and DeFi evolution persist despite market doldrums. These trends may help determine which projects persevere once the next bull market emerges.
