In 2024, Hedera Hashgraph continued to expand its presence in the blockchain space, achieving notable milestones across DeFi, AI, sustainability, and governance. The network saw significant growth in on-chain activity, with rising adoption in tokenization, decentralized finance, and enterprise applications.
Despite challenges in the NFT sector, Hedera’s commitment to innovation and scalability has reinforced its position as a leading blockchain for real-world use cases. This report explores Hedera’s key developments, ecosystem performance, and future outlook in 2024.
Key Takeaways
- Hedera averaged 1,584 daily unique active wallets (UAW) in 2024, a 72% YoY increase.
- DeFi led on-chain activity, accounting for 81.5% of total engagement, followed by NFTs (11.2%), gaming (5.7%), and social dapps (1.6%).
- Transaction count reached 4.4 million, a 159% increase from the previous year, generating approximately $2.2 billion in volume, marking a 174% surge.
- Total Value Locked (TVL) on Hedera surged to $293 million, a 177% increase from the start of 2024.
- SaucerSwap dominated by user engagement, driving 60% of Hedera’s total activity and holding 44% of TVL. But, Stader (SD) emerged as the leading dapp by TVL, holding a 47% share of the network’s locked value.
- In October 2024, Karate Combat announced “UP,” a Layer 2 blockchain on Hedera, set to launch in Q1 2025, aimed at sports, esports, and entertainment industries.
- In December 2024, EQTY Labs unveiled “Verifiable Compute” with NVIDIA and Intel on the Hedera Consensus Service (HCS). This is the world’s first hardware-based solution to govern and audit AI work flows.
- Hedera’s NFT trading volume reached $5.1 million in 2024, with 66,687 total sales, following a downward trend in line with the broader market.
Table of Contents
- Hedera’s Key Developments in 2024
- On-Chain Activity Overview
- DeFi Ecosystem Overview
- Q3 updates on Karate Combat
- NFT Activity Overview
- Closing words
1. Hedera’s Key Developments in 2024
In 2024, Hedera Hashgraph continued to solidify its position as a leader in enterprise-grade blockchain solutions, achieving significant milestones in asset tokenization, DeFi, AI integration, sustainability, and governance. The year was marked by technological advancements and strategic collaborations, reinforcing Hedera’s role in driving innovation, transparency, and efficiency across multiple industries.
1. Asset Tokenization and DeFi
Asset Tokenization Studio: Hedera introduced the Asset Tokenization Studio, an open-source toolkit designed to simplify the issuance and management of tokenized assets. This initiative aims to streamline the adoption of tokenization solutions by businesses and developers, enhancing the accessibility of Hedera’s native services in digital asset management.
2. Integration with AI
Verifiable Compute collaboration: In a strategic partnership with EQTY Lab, NVIDIA, and Intel, Hedera launched Verifiable Compute, a hardware-based solution designed to govern and audit AI workflows. This integration ensures transparency and accountability in AI operations by immutably recording processes on the Hedera network.
ClimateGPT initiative: Hedera collaborated with EQTY Lab and the Endowment for Climate Intelligence to introduce ClimateGPT, an AI-driven model designed for unbiased climate analysis. To ensure data integrity and transparency, every step of its development is recorded on the Hedera network.
3. Sustainability and environmental initiatives
Guardian 3.0 release: Hedera launched Guardian 3.0, an upgraded version of its open-source platform for digitized climate methodologies. The latest version features real-time analytics, enhanced permission settings, and full API access, improving the accuracy and efficiency of environmental data management.
4. Ecosystem growth and governance
Hiero Project: In a pivotal move towards open-source governance, Hedera transferred the entire source code of the Hedera Hashgraph to the Linux Foundation under the name Hiero. This transition reinforces Hedera’s commitment to decentralized governance and open-source development, ensuring that its technology remains accessible and vendor-neutral.
2. On-chain activity overview
Following 2024’s updates, we now turn to the on-chain activity of dapps listed on DappRadar, providing a data-driven perspective on Hedera’s growth. In 2024, Hedera averaged 1,584 daily unique active wallets (UAW)—a remarkable 72% increase compared to the previous year.
Hedera remains heavily DeFi-oriented, with DeFi dapps accounting for 81.5% of the total on-chain activity. The NFT sector follows with 11.2%, while gaming contributes 5.7%, and social applications represent 1.6% of the network’s activity.
A closer examination of the most-used dapps on Hedera reveals that the DeFi sector continues to lead the ecosystem’s expansion:
- SaucerSwap – A decentralized exchange (DEX) offering automated market-making (AMM) and liquidity provisioning for digital assets.
- SentX – A DeFi platform providing lending, borrowing, and staking services, allowing users to earn yield on their holdings.
- CoinFantasy – A decentralized gaming and investment platform that gamifies financial markets, enabling users to participate in fantasy trading competitions with real crypto rewards.
- Circle of Games – A blockchain-based gaming ecosystem leveraging play-to-earn (P2E) mechanics, rewarding players through skill-based competitions and in-game assets.
- HeliSwap – A DEX supporting cross-chain trading, expanding liquidity pools to enhance accessibility within Hedera’s DeFi sector.
Hedera’s on-chain economy flourished in 2024, with smart contract volumes surging 174% year-over-year. The total on-chain volume across Hedera dapps reached $2.2 billion, driven by increased token swaps, staking, and DeFi interactions.
Transaction activity followed a similar trajectory, with a staggering 4.4 million transactions recorded—a 159% increase compared to 2023. This exponential growth underscores Hedera’s rising adoption and expanding user base, solidifying its position as a leading blockchain ecosystem.
With DeFi leading the way, coupled with substantial growth in NFTs, gaming, and social applications, Hedera continues to attract users and developers, cementing its role as a key player in the blockchain space.
3. DeFi Ecosystem
Hedera’s Total Value Locked (TVL) experienced substantial growth throughout 2024, reaching $293 million by year-end—an impressive 177% increase from the start of the year. This expansion aligns with the broader bullish market trend, reinforcing Hedera’s position as a rising force in the DeFi sector.
Among Hedera’s DeFi dapps, SaucerSwap stands out as the most actively used platform. Listed on DappRadar, it leads by unique active wallets (UAW), driving over 60% of the network’s total activity. Additionally, SaucerSwap holds a 44% dominance over Hedera’s TVL, making it a key player in the ecosystem.
Despite SaucerSwap’s dominance in user activity, Stader (SD) emerges as the leading dapp by TVL, holding a 47% share of Hedera’s total locked value.
Stader had an eventful 2024, marked by significant developments in Ethereum Liquid Staking Tokens (LSTs) and tokenomics improvements.
- March 2024: Stader launched the SD Utility Pool, a pioneering initiative in the Ethereum LST space. This feature enables SD holders to delegate their tokens, contributing to Ethereum’s decentralization while allowing node operators to run ETHx validators without direct SD exposure.
- June 25, 2024: Stader executed a major token burn, permanently removing 30 million SD tokens from circulation—equivalent to 20% of the total supply—reducing inflationary pressure on the asset.
- September 2, 2024: To further enhance SD’s value, Stader implemented quarterly buybacks, allocating 20% of its revenue to repurchase SD tokens from the open market. The first buyback amounted to $150,000, setting a precedent for sustained tokenomics improvement.
As Hedera continues to evolve, its DeFi sector remains a critical pillar, attracting both users and liquidity providers to its growing blockchain network.
4. Karate Combat: revolutionizing sports entertainment with blockchain
Karate Combat, a professional full-contact karate league, has emerged as one of the most popular dapps on Hedera, seamlessly integrating blockchain technology to enhance fan engagement and governance. By leveraging Hedera’s network, the league has transformed traditional sports entertainment, offering unique and interactive experiences to its audience.
In October 2024, Karate Combat announced the development of “UP,” a Layer 2 blockchain built on Hedera, with an expected launch in Q1 2025. This platform aims to empower the sports, esports, and entertainment industries by offering a crypto-native software licensing solution, unlocking new revenue streams and engagement models.
A key component of UP is the “Up Only Gaming” software stack, designed to reward $KARATE token holders for correctly predicting fight outcomes. This innovative model has driven rapid adoption, attracting 100,000 users within just over a year.
Karate Combat plans to license this software stack to various stakeholders, including:
- Sports leagues
- Esports teams
- Fantasy sports platforms
- Gambling operators
By providing a customizable, fee-free licensing model, these partners can develop their own applications while leveraging Karate Combat’s technology and user base.
The UP platform introduces an innovative approach to token utility and interoperability:
- Partners can issue and integrate their own tokens, regardless of blockchain network.
- Users access Up Only Gaming by wrapping and staking their tokens to UP on Hedera.
- Karate Combat will share its user base with builders on UP, leveraging the league’s questing modules to drive engagement.
- A dedicated UP token (UP) is set to launch in 2025, with a portion of the supply distributed to $KARATE token stakers over time.
Karate Combat’s blockchain-driven innovation represents a paradigm shift in sports and entertainment, bridging fan engagement with decentralized finance and gaming mechanics.
5. NFT activity overview
Reflecting broader market trends highlighted in the 2024 Dapp Industry Report, the NFT sector has faced significant challenges throughout the year. Hedera’s NFT market followed a similar downward trajectory, particularly in Q3 2024. Despite these challenges, NFT activity on the network remains resilient, with $5.1 million in total trading volume and 66,687 NFT sales recorded.
While trading volumes have declined, NFT engagement persists, with several key marketplaces continuing to facilitate activity within the ecosystem. These platforms serve as primary hubs for buying, selling, and trading NFTs, driving community interaction and adoption.
Despite the downturn, several NFT collections on Hedera managed to stand out in 2024, maintaining strong trading volumes and community engagement. These collections highlight the continued interest in Hedera-based NFTs, even in a challenging market environment.
Although Hedera’s NFT ecosystem remains relatively small compared to other blockchain networks, it continues to show potential for future growth. As the broader NFT market recovers, increased developer activity, marketplace expansion, and new NFT projects could contribute to revitalizing the ecosystem.
6. Closing words
Hedera’s 2024 performance underscores its growing role in blockchain innovation, particularly in DeFi, asset tokenization, AI integration, and real-world applications. While the NFT sector faced headwinds, Hedera’s DeFi expansion, governance advancements, and enterprise adoption signal a strong foundation for future growth. As the network continues to evolve and attract new projects, its commitment to scalability, sustainability, and decentralization positions it as a key player in the blockchain space moving forward.
