According to on-chain analytics, in Q1 2023, the Ethereum ecosystem saw active development around Layer 2 solutions, zero-knowledge (ZK) protocols, and several other segments.
During the first three months of 2023, activity was significantly increased around Layer 2 protocols on Ethereum. This is reported by analysts from Alchemy, citing data from Dune Analytics. In particular, it concerns Optimism, Arbitrum, and Polygon protocols, with the total number of users increasing by 44% compared to the previous quarter and by 518% compared to the same period last year.
The overall number of new smart contracts in 2023 in the three aforementioned Layer 2 networks grew by 160%. The total number of transactions on these networks in Q1 2023 was 635,000 users, an increase of 617% over the same period in 2022.
Alchemy analysts suggested that the surge in activity was driven by successful airdrops that took place on Optimism and Arbitrum networks in Q1 2023. However, the growth of activity on the largest L2 networks was recorded by on-chain analysts at the beginning of this year, so it’s fair to say it’s a relevant trend. Moreover, the activity of DAO users associated with Ethereum’s L2 protocols increased considerably.
Analysts also note the general growth of developer activity within the Ethereum ecosystem. For example, the number of downloads of Ethereum software development kits (SDKs) increased by 8% over the previous quarter and by 44% over the same period last year. Interest in SDKs for crypto wallets grew by 451% compared to Q1 2022.
Q1 2023 also saw a substantial increase in developer activity on Goerli and Sepolia testnets, which was probably due to preparations for the Shapella update, successfully carried out last week. It’s worth noting that the trend of withdrawing staked ETH a week after the activation of this feature has reversed, as predicted.
Analysts also point out the growth of activity in zero-knowledge (ZK) protocols. In particular, this is confirmed by ZKValidator data, according to which zkSync Era and Polygon zkEVM protocols, launched in March 2023, attracted an average of 15,666 and 266 daily active users, respectively.
The total number of unique users, who placed their funds in the protocol zkSync Era, amounted to 385,594, and the value of placed funds exceeded $210 million. 13,187 users placed their assets in the Polygon zkEVM protocol, worth $4.3 million. Analysts note that this performance gap may be due to rumors about the upcoming airdrop of zkSync Era. However, the developers of Polygon Labs continue to work actively with Zero-Knowledge Proof, leading, for example, to the launch of Polygon ID — a decentralized solution for personal identification.
