Polkadot’s user activity hiked in Q4 2023: Will 2024 see same trend?

• Polkadot’s network activity increased in Q4 2023.
• Its revenue also surged significantly.

Layer 0 blockchain network Polkadot [DOT]

In its report titled “State of Polkadot Q4 2023,” the on-chain data provider found that during the last quarter, Polkadot’s base layer — Relay Chain — witnessed a 94% spike in the average count of daily active addresses.  

Polkadot’s Relay Chain, whose primary function is to validate and provide security to the parachains on the network, averaged over 10,000 active addresses daily.

Also, Q4 2024 saw a significant rally in new demand for Polkadot. According to Messari, the network’s Relay Chain registered a 116% uptick in new addresses between October and December 2023.

This marked an 8% rally in new demand for the blockchain network year-over-year.

Source: Messari

The last quarter of 2023 saw an unprecedented rise in the values of several crypto assets. Polkadot’s native coin DOT benefited from the same, as its circulating supply grew by over 100% during that period.

Messari found,

“DOT’s circulating market cap increased 111% QoQ to $8.38 billion, more than double the overall crypto market’s growth of 54%. This Q4 growth brought DOT’s YoY change to 94%. DOT’s market cap ranks in the top 15 among all crypto projects.”

In addition, Polkadot logged a 2,880% surge in quarterly revenue. For context, during the 90-day period, the network’s revenue totaled  $2.8 million.

In the two preceding quarters, Polkadot’s revenue was $97,500 and $94,200, respectively.

Messari noted that the astronomical rally in Polkadot’s revenue in Q4 2023 was due to activity around inscriptions on the chain.

Messari found that there was a 4-day boom in Polkadot’s inscription activity between the 20th and the 23rd of December, where its Relay Chain processed an average of 4.3 million daily extrinsics.

Source: Messari

Declining interest in DOT trades

At press time, DOT traded at $6.65. According to data from CoinMarketCap, the coin’s value has decreased by 18% in the last month.

This price fall has resulted in a corresponding decline in its Futures Open Interest, AMBCrypto found.

Realistic or not, here’s DOT’s market cap in BTC’s terms

Data from Coinglass showed a 19% decrease in DOT’s Open Interest since the year began. At press time, the coin’s Open Interest was $215 million. 

When an asset’s Open Interest craters in this manner, it means that traders are exiting their positions without opening new ones.