The blockchain landscape at the end of 2025 shows remarkable changes in user activity metrics with surprising candidates for existing leaders. According to the latest statistics from Phoenix, monthly active addresses are the most important factor in determining whether a blockchain is being used for legitimate purposes rather than mere speculation.
The BNB chain surpassed 58 million monthly active addresses in September 2025, surpassing Solana’s 38.3 million for the first time since 2024. This accomplishment was more than just a number. This number shows a change in the way users interact with blockchain networks.
Binance’s infrastructure enhancements and ecosystem expansion have driven its growth. The average block time is now 0.751 seconds and petrol prices have plummeted from 0.05 Gwei (down 98% since 2025). Binance co-founder (CZ) reported that in December 2020, Binance had more than 2.4 million daily active addresses, resulting in a 600% increase in annual trading volume. The network’s total locks have soared to $17.1 billion, with PancakeSwap alone having a TVL of $2.5 billion and transaction volume of $772 billion in Q3 2025.
Solana’s response to the Layer 2 revolution
While the BNB chain has risen to the top, Solana remains a powerhouse with unique advantages. The network has a strong monthly active user base of 58 million, with an FDV of $108.5 billion and a 30-day trading volume of $290 billion. Its history-proof consensus mechanism supports thousands of transactions per second, making it the platform of choice when it comes to high-frequency DeFi and meme coin trading.
The advent of Ethereum Layer 2 solutions has added a new dimension to the blockchain battle for user engagement. Coinbase’s optimistic rollup solution, Base, quickly accumulated 22 million monthly active addresses despite being fairly new. The platform’s integration with Coinbase’s 100 million user base has an onboarding advantage of ultra-low average fees of $0.01, attracting cost-conscious users and developers.
Arbitrum has 4.2 million monthly active addresses, $5.2 billion in FDV, and $14.5 billion in trading volume. These layer 2 platforms inherit the security of Ethereum while giving users what they want from network speed and cost efficiency.
The impact of active addresses on blockchain adoption
A focus on monthly active addresses is maturing as a means of measuring success in the blockchain industry. While market capitalization indicates how much value is in the ecosystem, active addresses indicate the actual usage of a blockchain network, giving you an idea of the overall health of that network and ecosystem. However, analysts point out that bots, airdrop farming, and empty wallets can have a significant impact on these numbers, even without actual user engagement.
The reason blockchain will explode in 2025 is because stablecoins like USDT and USDC are increasing transaction volumes to lend out large amounts of liquidity, while Arbitrum and Base are reducing costs to the penny. The DeFi and NFT ecosystem continues to attract more and more users as more participants delve deeper into the concepts of decentralized applications and digital ownership. Meanwhile, popular partnerships like the Base and Coinbase integration are opening the door to blockchain technology to millions of people who previously struggled to access it.
conclusion
As 2026 approaches, the competition for improved blockchain performance and true utility is sure to intensify. Networks that integrate both high-throughput and real-world applications such as DeFi, gaming, and tokenization will continue to fascinate users. Monthly active addresses have become a key figure in revealing which networks people are choosing to use, indicating that blockchain is moving from speculation to utility-driven adoption.
