July was anything but quiet for Web3. While overall wallet activity dipped slightly to 22 million daily users (-8%), the month delivered big moves under the surface. NFT trading volumes surged 96%, pushing the sector ahead of DeFi in user activity, a shift we haven’t seen in months. Meanwhile, DeFi locked in $270B, setting a new all-time high, and tokenized stocks exploded with a 220% market cap jump.
But growth wasn’t without risk. $132 million was lost in hacks, and while AI remains one of the most promising sectors, most AI dapps saw double-digit usage declines. Regulation is catching up fast, with major crypto bills passed in the U.S. and global clarity beginning to take shape.
From blue-chip NFT momentum to record-breaking DeFi flows, this month proves that Web3 is far from slowing down, it’s just shifting lanes.
Key Takeaways
- 22M daily unique active wallets interacted with dapps in July, down 8% MoM
- Gaming led with 22.4% dominance, followed by AI (18.7%) and NFTs (17.5%)
- NFT trading volume up 96%, reaching $530M, while avg. NFT price doubled to $105
- DeFi TVL hit an ATH of $270B on July 28, up 30% MoM
- AI dapps saw activity decline, but Dmail, XPIN, and ChainGPT grew steadily
- $132M lost to exploits, a 16% increase from June.
Table of Contents
- Dapp activity cools off
- Most used dapps in Web3
- AI Dapps: the rise, the fall and what’s next
- DeFi hits new ATH
- NFT activity surpasses DeFi
- $132M lost to exploits
- Closing words
1. Dapp activity cools off
As we enter August, it’s clear July came with a classic summer slowdown, both for us and the dapp industry. Whether it’s the beach, the mountains, or just some well-deserved time offline, activity tends to dip. And this year’s July was no exception: daily unique active wallets (dUAW) dropped by 8%, settling at 22 million.
Unsurprisingly, the Social sector saw the biggest cooldown, with dUAW down 27% to 2.8 million. That’s not too shocking, social dapps often move in waves of hype. Right now, the spotlight is on InfoFi platforms like Farcaster and the new Base dapp, but many of these communities are still heavily gatekept. That makes it harder for newcomers to get involved, even if the potential is massive. Long-term, though, this category could become foundational. The creator economy already dominates traditional media, and it’s making strong inroads into Web3.
The AI sector also saw a noticeable 14% drop, landing at 4.1 million dUAW. Meanwhile, DeFi shrank by 6%, continuing its recent cooldown. On the bright side, Gaming proved resilient with a 2% uptick, and NFTs held steady.
Gaming continues to lead the dapp ecosystem, holding 22.4% market share in July. It’s followed by AI (18.7%) and NFTs (17.5%). One standout shift: DeFi, which just two months ago was the top sector by dominance, has now slipped behind NFTs. It’s a clear sign of shifting user behavior, and perhaps changing priorities in how users engage with Web3.
2. Most used dapps in Web3
Each month, we track the top dapps by daily unique active wallets (dUAW) to understand where the real user engagement is happening, and July was no exception.
Looking at the leaderboard, we see a familiar trend: Solana-based DEXs continue to dominate. The memecoin wave is far from over, and these exchanges are still critical touchpoints for retail activity.
One standout outside DeFi is World of Dypians, a gaming dapp that has consistently retained its user base and continued driving steady engagement.
What’s also worth noting: two AI dapps made it into the top rankings, more on them in the next section. Their presence signals that user interest in AI-powered Web3 experiences isn’t just hype; it’s becoming embedded in daily activity.
While DeFi might not dominate the industry by overall wallet share anymore, it still dominates the top dapp rankings. Why? Because launching a DeFi dapp and actually gaining users is tough, but those that do break through tend to capture high activity and loyalty.
In contrast, sectors like gaming, social, or NFTs have a much broader variety of dapps, which spreads user attention more thinly across the board.
3. AI Dapps: the rise, the fall, and what’s next
AI is reshaping both Web3 and our everyday lives, and at DappRadar, we track this closely through our AI Trending page and AI dapp rankings, where you can explore what’s hot across 24h, 7d, or 30d timeframes.
In July, most AI dapps saw a decline in activity, but three stood out with steady growth: Dmail Network, XPIN Network, and ChainGPT. These projects, among others, are worth keeping on your radar.
- Dmail Network: Encrypted, blockchain-based email service.
- Exorde: Uses AI to gather global news and insights.
- ChainGPT: A suite of AI-powered tools for crypto, including ChainGPT Pad, a launchpad for early-stage projects. (Also part of our DappLaunch program!)
You can dive deeper into these on their individual dapp pages or explore trends on our AI pages.
Furthermore, one of the biggest moves in the industry came from Lightchain AI, which launched its mainnet tailored for on-chain machine learning. With an AI-specific VM and Proof-of-Intelligence consensus, it’s a glimpse into what decentralized AI infra might look like.
Theta Network also stepped up, integrating Amazon’s Trainium and Inferentia chips, powering use cases like “Quakebot,” an AI agent for MLS team San Jose Earthquakes.
Protocols like Aethir and Render Network are making decentralized compute a reality. Aethir hit 1B compute hours and introduced an AI-powered crypto credit card, while Render migrated to Solana for faster, cheaper performance.
And the ASI Alliance, a unification of SingularityNET, Fetch.ai, and Ocean Protocol, officially began merging under the $ASI token. It’s aiming to build a fully decentralized AGI stack.
In gaming, Elympics launched $ELP to enable AI-powered “Agentic Gaming,” with connections to NFT IPs like Pudgy Penguins and Doodles.
AI tokens like TAO, RNDR, and AGIX gained investor attention, with TAO scoring a $10M investment from TAO Synergies, the largest public AI treasury to date.
Meanwhile, researchers unveiled A1, an AI agent capable of autonomously exploiting smart contract bugs, showing just how fast AI is evolving as both a tool and a risk.
On the regulatory front, the U.S. passed several bills offering clarity to AI-crypto players and appointed an AI & Crypto Czar, a major signal that AI’s role in blockchain is only growing.
4. DeFi hits new ATH
The DeFi sector was on fire in July. Total value locked (TVL) grew by more than 30%, closing the month at $259 billion. Even more impressive, on July 28, DeFi TVL hit an all-time high of $270 billion, a clear signal of rising confidence, fresh liquidity, and deepening user demand across lending, trading, and tokenized assets.
A standout trend came from tokenized stocks. Wallets interacting with these assets exploded from ~1,600 to over 90,000, pushing their total market cap up 220% in the same period. That’s not just growth, it’s a signal that real-world assets (RWA) are starting to hit critical mass.
Ethereum continues to dominate DeFi with $166B in TVL, dwarfing Solana’s $23B. The ETH price surged nearly 60% in July, likely fueled by regulatory tailwinds. Meanwhile, staking rewards spiked to 29.4% APY, reflecting growing confidence and user participation.
Over on Solana, Hyperliquid stole the show, generating 35% of all blockchain revenue in July, thanks to rising demand for derivatives. It now handles over 60% of 24h perpetual trading volume, with $15.3B in open interest, and facilitated $5.1B in USDC bridging.
On the policy front, July marked a major moment for U.S. crypto regulation. Lawmakers passed:
- The GENIUS Act – setting a stablecoin framework.
- The CLARITY Act – clarifying digital asset classifications (SEC vs. CFTC).
Even more significant, SEC Chair Atkins unveiled “Project Crypto”, laying out a roadmap to integrate DeFi with traditional finance, including proposals for token issuance, custody, and DeFi-specific compliance frameworks.
5. NFT activity surpasses DeFi
The NFT market is showing serious signs of life, and people are noticing. In fact, in July, NFT activity surpassed DeFi, a shift we haven’t seen in a while.
So, what’s behind this momentum?
Trading volume nearly doubled, up 96% to $530 million. But sales dropped 4% to 5 million. This tells us one thing: NFTs got more expensive.
In June, the average NFT price was $52. In July, it hit $105, a 103% increase. Blue-chip collections are back in the spotlight, and whales are leading the charge.
Blur dominated Ethereum NFT volume (up to 80% daily share), thanks to pro traders and its Blend lending protocol. OpenSea kept its lead in users (~27K daily traders), supported by long-tail listings and cross-chain activity. Zora gained traction with its creator-first L2 and $ZORA token, offering cheap, accessible NFT minting.
Additionally, Starbucks ended its Odyssey NFT loyalty pilot. Nike .SWOOSH continued digital drops and joined EA Sports for virtual sneakers in games. Louis Vuitton, Rolex, and Coca-Cola (China) ran NFT pilots tied to authentication and collectibles. Netflix, NBA Top Shot, FIFA and others are still in the game — but with clearer licensing terms.
The big shift? NFTs are evolving from hype to utility, from collectibles and culture to identity, ticketing, gaming, and tokenized real-world assets.
6. $132M lost to exploits
I wish we could report a month with zero hacks or exploits, but that’s not the Web3 we live in (yet). And as the market shows signs of recovery, it seems bad actors are doubling down.
In July, over $132 million was lost to exploits, a 16% increase compared to June.
Top Exploits – July 2025 (Source: REKT Database)
- CoinDCX ($44M) – An Indian exchange suffered a server breach targeting an internal liquidity account. Luckily, user funds weren’t impacted, and the exchange continues to operate normally.
- GMX v1 ($42M) – On July 9, a vulnerability in GMX v1 on Arbitrum allowed a malicious contract to manipulate internal accounting, withdrawing more funds than allowed. The GLP pool was impacted; other GMX versions remain unaffected. A bounty has been offered for fund recovery.
- BigONE ($28M) – On July 16, the centralized exchange BigONE experienced unauthorized access to its hot wallet, resulting in losses across multiple chains. The platform stated that all user assets are safe, and it will cover the full loss.
These incidents are a reminder that security in Web3 is still a work in progress. Whether you’re deep in DeFi, NFTs, or AI dapps, always double-check smart contract permissions, avoid suspicious links, and use hardware wallets when possible.
📚 Need help staying safe? We’ve got you covered:
👉 Web3 Scam Prevention & User Safety Guide
7. Closing words
July reminded us that Web3 never truly sleeps, even during the summer slowdown. While some sectors cooled off, others like NFTs, AI, and DeFi showed strong momentum, signaling that builders and users are still here, shaping what’s next.
From the rise of tokenized assets and AI-powered dapps to security incidents that remind us to stay cautious, it’s clear that the dapp industry continues to evolve fast.
As always, we’ll keep tracking the trends, the data, and the opportunities.
And if you’re reading this? You’re already ahead of the curve.
Stay safe, stay curious, and see you next month.
