Ronin and ZKsync Experience Significant Declines in Onchain Metrics in 2025

Onchain activity has sharply decreased across several significant blockchain networks, according to data from Nansen. In the past year, 11 blockchains have shown a decline in the number of active addresses. Ronin was hit the hardest with a 70% drop, while Bitcoin saw a more modest decline of 7.2%. Notably, multiple Ethereum layer-2 networks also experienced similar downturns.

Key Takeaways

Onchain activity dropped significantly, with Ronin experiencing a 70% decline and ZKsync transactions dropping by 90%.
Ethereum’s base layer saw growth while several layer-2 networks faced declines.
Declines were influenced by factors like game popularity and airdrop activities.
Some networks retained user engagement beyond temporary spikes, while Solana maintained a higher baseline of activity post-boom.

Ronin and ZKsync’s onchain metrics fell the most in 2025

Nansen’s insights further revealed a notable drop in transaction activity across many of the same networks. ZKsync experienced one of the steepest declines, with transaction volumes plunging by 90%. In contrast, Ethereum's base layer saw a 25% increase in active addresses and over a 20% rise in transactions, even amid ongoing discussions about Ethereum’s rollup-centric roadmap and concerns over liquidity fragmentation in layer-2 networks.

Telegram, TON, Layer2, zk-Rollup, GameFi, Features
Ronin and Ethereum layer-2 chains face significant declines in activity, with Bitcoin also showing a slight decrease. Source: Nansen

Major Networks Experiencing Usage Declines

Pixels, a widely played game, transitioned to the Ronin network from Polygon in the latter half of 2023. Initially, Ronin enjoyed around 20,000 daily active users, but with the arrival of Pixels, activity surged briefly, making Ronin one of the top chains in terms of daily users. By December 2024, Pixels had accumulated approximately 300,000 daily active users according to DappRadar. As the game's popularity waned, Ronin’s onchain activities declined, indicating the network's dependence on successful games.

Telegram, TON, Layer2, zk-Rollup, GameFi, Features, Nansen
Pixels’ activity saw a steady decline throughout 2025. Source: DappRadar

Several Ethereum layer-2 networks also faced decreased usage as excitement over airdrops diminished. ZKsync launched its token airdrop claim in June 2024, claiming nearly 700,000 eligible wallets while also facing criticism for its Sybil filtering. Nansen's data indicated that over 40% of the top airdrop wallets promptly sold their allocations. Scroll, following its airdrop in October 2024, also saw a decline in onchain activity.

Arbitrum recorded a slight decrease of 3% in active addresses, though it remains one of the top 10 networks with roughly 31 million users. After its airdrop in 2023, Arbitrum's transaction volume surged by 36% to about 734.5 million, outpacing Ethereum’s 507 million transactions. The network saw increased usage from tokenized assets, including 500 US stocks represented on the platform through Robinhood.

Related: How crypto is utilized in 2025: YouTube, Pokémon cards, and more

Base and Optimism distinguished themselves among Ethereum layer-2 networks with increased active addresses and higher transaction volumes. Base operates without a native token and has yet to conduct an airdrop. Its onchain activity grew alongside interest in memecoins, AI applications, and decentralized exchanges. Solana led the industry with over 1 billion active addresses, followed by Tron and Ethereum. Meanwhile, BNB Chain saw a 159% increase in active addresses, while Bitcoin was the only network in the top five to report a decline, coupled with a 22% drop in transactions.

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Despite a cooldown in memecoin activity, Solana still leads the industry in onchain performance. Source: Nansen

Understanding the Declines in Onchain Metrics

The data reveals a lack of consistent correlation between onchain activity and token pricing. For instance, while Solana's price fell over the year, it experienced a 66% increase in active addresses. Conversely, BNB's token price rose alongside a boost in network activity.

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BNB’s price increased by nearly 20% in the past year. Source: CoinGecko

The year-over-year declines do not necessarily imply significant issues for the affected networks. Onchain activity can fluctuate considerably as applications migrate, incentive programs conclude, or users switch between chains, especially in newer networks still defining their primary use cases.

The Telegram-supported blockchain The Open Network (TON) also faced a 47% drop in active addresses and a 51% decline in transactions, reversing the extensive growth it experienced in 2024. Mini-games associated with Telegram played a significant role in earlier user engagement, attracting a demographic beyond typical crypto users.

Related: Bitcoin decouples from stocks in the latter half of 2025

One notable example, Hamster Kombat, created significant interest owing to its simple mechanics, which encouraged participation from users enthusiastic about a potential airdrop. According to Telegram CEO Pavel Durov, the game attracted 239 million users in just three months, with over 130 million qualifying for its airdrop in late September. Nansen’s data indicates that TON's active addresses peaked at around 2.5 million per day on September 30, but this number slipped as engagement with Hamster Kombat diminished, highlighting how temporary surges can distort year-over-year comparisons.

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Hamster Kombat significantly increased Ton’s activity levels. Source: Nansen

Networks That Retained Usage Beyond Hype

Data from the past year illustrates that onchain activity is transient, often shifting quickly between networks rather than being anchored to any one chain. The most significant declines were seen on blockchains where activities were concentrated around a few applications, incentive programs, or brief viral trends.

However, these declines do not inherently indicate a wider failure of the ecosystem. Often, activity wanes after periods of exceptional growth, showing how year-over-year comparisons can be misleading due to hype cycles, airdrops, or short-lived applications.

Solana serves as a useful contrast. Although activity driven by memecoins surged in 2024 and early 2025 before cooling, this boom attracted new users, liquidity, and projects that continued to bolster the network.

Telegram, TON, Layer2, zk-Rollup, GameFi, Features, Nansen
Solana’s memecoin surge has led to new user engagement that persists beyond the boom. Source: Nansen

Solana's daily active addresses peaked above 9 million on October 22, 2024, during the height of memecoin trading. By December, daily user counts fluctuated between 2 million and 3 million. While this represented a notable decline from peak levels, activity remained significantly higher than before the boom.

Much of the decline in onchain activity this past year stemmed from short-term profit-seeking, but networks such as Solana, BNB Chain, and Base demonstrated an ability to retain user engagement beyond viral surges, setting themselves apart from those that witnessed more substantial downturns.

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