Ethereum News Today: Web3 Gas Shifts to RWA DePIN AI as DeFi Share Falls to 11%

Generated by AI AgentCoin World
Monday, Aug 18, 2025 3:03 pm ET2min read
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Aime RobotAime Summary

- Q2 2025 Web3 activity stabilized at 24M daily, but Ethereum gas usage shifted toward RWA, DePIN, and AI DApps, now accounting for 58% of gas consumption.

- DeFi’s gas share fell to 11% despite $137B TVL growth, reflecting institutional adoption through permissioned pools and tokenized treasuries.

- Smart contract platforms (e.g., HBAR +360%) and DeFi/RWA tokens outperformed the market, while AI tokens lagged with 25% average YoY declines.

- NFT gas usage dropped to 4%, contrasting with RWA’s $25.4B tokenized value surge, signaling growing institutional interest in real-world asset tokenization.

In Q2 2025, daily Web3 activity remained stable at around 24 million, but the underlying sector composition is shifting [1]. DeFi continues to dominate transaction counts with over 240 million weekly, yet

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gas usage is increasingly led by emerging categories such as real-world asset tokenization (RWA), decentralized physical infrastructure (DePIN), and AI-based decentralized applications (DApps). Meanwhile, DeFi’s share of Ethereum gas has dropped to just 11%, while the "Other" category—covering RWA, DePIN, and AI—now accounts for over 58% of gas consumption [1].

DappRadar’s data shows that while crypto gaming remains the largest DApp category by user activity, its market share has declined from over 26% to below 19%. Social and AI-related DApps are gaining ground, with Farcaster attracting approximately 40,000 daily unique active wallets (UAW), and Virtuals Protocol (VIRTUAL) drawing 1,900 weekly UAW [1]. This suggests that adoption is broadening beyond traditional categories.

DeFi’s growing institutional interest is reflected in its total value locked (TVL), which has increased by 150% since January 2024 to reach $137 billion, though it remains below its all-time high of $177 billion [1]. The rise in TVL, coupled with a decline in UAW, indicates a shift toward large-scale capital participation and regulatory testing, particularly through permissioned liquidity pools and tokenized treasuries.

Gas usage data from Glassnode further highlights the changing dynamics: NFTs, which once consumed a significant portion of Ethereum’s gas, now account for just 4%, while RWA and DePIN are gaining computational and economic traction [1]. The total RWA value has surged from $15.8 billion at the start of 2024 to $25.4 billion today, indicating growing interest in tokenizing traditional assets [1].

In terms of price performance, smart contract platform coins and yield-focused DeFi and RWA tokens have outperformed the broader altcoin market. The top 10 smart contract platform coins rose an unweighted average of 142%, led by

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(+360%) and XLM (+334%). DeFi tokens averaged 77% YoY gains, with Curve DAO (CRV) up 308% and Pendle (PENDLE) up 110%. The top 10 RWA tokens gained 65% on average, with XDC (+237%) and OUSG (+137%) leading the pack [1].

Conversely, AI tokens have underperformed, with the top 10 AI-focused projects averaging a 25% decline YoY, despite strong narrative support. DePIN and social tokens also lagged, with DePIN’s top performers, JasmyCoin (JASMY) and Aethir (ATH), posting gains of 72% and 39% respectively, while the sector’s average was around +10% [1].

The data underscores that while hype can drive short-term volatility, sustained price gains are more closely aligned with sectors demonstrating tangible utility and adoption. As Web3 evolves, the sectors that currently deliver the most value—smart contract platforms, DeFi, and RWA—continue to attract the most investment and institutional confidence [1].

Source: [1] Time for a Web3 reality check: Which altcoin sectors are really delivering? (https://cointelegraph.com/news/time-for-a-web3-reality-check-which-altcoin-sectors-are-really-delivering?utm_source=rss_feed&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rss_partner_inbound)