Bounty Question : How sticky are the users on Flow? Create a detailed analysis comparing user retention on Flow vs. other L1 chains like Ethereum and Solana. How often do users who make a transaction come back and make another transaction one month later? How do monthly active users compare between chains?
An Overview
FLOW
Flow is designed for Web3 applications that need great user experience, whether NFTs, gaming, Metaverse, or even decentralized finance. Dapper Labs has launched one of the most popular NFT gaming collections ever named CryptoKitties, which choked the Ethereum blockchain. There is no need to A NFT project called Cryptokitties crippled the Ethereum blockchain during the first major public cryptocurrency hype in 2018. Dapper Labs, a Canadian company, built the cryptokitties project and realized the popularity of cryptokitties, so they focused on scaling and improving their blockchain related projects. However, Ethereum did not go so smoothly since their NFT projects were competing for scarce resources with the DeFi dapps. In response, they created a new blockchain called Flow.
Flow is a fast, decentralized, and developer-friendly blockchain designed for high transaction throughput for gaming networks, digital assets, and mobile apps that require millions of transactions. Flow’s blockchain architecture follows a totally different route than Ethereum, with a multi-role architecture built on top of a unique architecture that handles scalability without sharding. That means , we can say Flow blockchain was launched by Dapper Labs in response to Ethereum’s high gas fees and low transaction capabilities. Flow has a unique consensus process. Here we can see from the below diagram .
NEAR, How Does It Works ?
NEAR is a Proof-of-Stake blockchain that uses sharding technology to achieve scalability. On this Protocol, developers can create decentralized applications (DApps) using layer 1 blockchain technology. NEAR is regarded as a challenger to Ethereum, the most successful blockchain protocol at layer 1.
Crypto communities are exploding with decentralized applications, from games to financial services. In most blockchains, however, scalability remains a challenge. Especially older blockchains like Bitcoin and Ethereum face the scalability issue. Blockchain’s difficulty handling a large number of transactions at fast speeds and at an affordable price is one of the main challenges. Near, for example, aims to solve this issue by using a different architecture for its blockchain. Using sharding, Near solved the problem. As a result of the sharding strategy, Near is able to create smaller segments which are easier to manage within the blockchain. By reducing computation load, the network is able to handle more transactions at a faster speed.
Earlier, it was mentioned that the Near protocol utilizes a Proof-of-Stake (PoS) system. To be considered for participation, nodes must stake their NEAR tokens. Those who do not wish to operate a node may also delegate their stake to a validator. A consensus process tends to be influenced more by validators with larger stakes. An auction system is used on Near to select validators at every epoch, typically every 12 hours. In the meantime, DApps can be developed on Near, just as they can on Ethereum. By combining serverless computing and decentralized data storage, Near’s cloud infrastructure makes this possible. The Near network is comprised of hundreds of servers across the globe.
Ethereum
On November 27, 2013, Vitalik Buterin came up with the concept of Ethereum. The Ethereum blockchain is an open-source, decentralized blockchain that supports smart contracts. With Ethereum, you can access global payments, digital money, and applications. In this community, we have created a booming digital economy, new ways for creators to earn an income online, and so much more. The platform uses ether as its native cryptocurrency. Ether is the second-largest cryptocurrency in terms of market capitalization behind bitcoin. It’s accessible to everyone, wherever they live – all they need is an internet connection.
Approach
Our aim in this article is to focus on the monthly active users of Flow and compare it with Ethereum and Near. The transactions made by Blockchain with active users are also displayed here on a monthly basis. The active user behavior of May registered users is also shown, along with their activity in subsequent months. These May new registered users were categorized by their transactions categories based on how they behaved in subsequent months and how active they were.
- Flow vs. Other Blockchains – Monthly Active Users
- For the past six months, Active Users Percentage – Flow vs Other Blockchains
- The transactions made by blockchain with active users
- The categories of active user transactions made by flow
- The categories of active user transactions made on Ethereum
- The categories of active user transactions made by NEAR protocol
- A Comparison Of May Registered Users’ Behavior With Subsequent Months’
- Active Users – How many transactions did they make in subsequent months after making a registration in May?
- Percentage, active users – registered in May, how many transactions did they have in subsequent months?
- By Category, Active Users – Registered In May, Number of Transactions In Following Months
- We can also see the number of active users who registered in May by month separately.
How do monthly active users compare between chains?
Retention of customers is key to the success of any business. It is rare for the most loyal and best users of a service to perform just one transaction before leaving. As a result of their loyalty, they keep coming back for more. Entrepreneurs can benefit from their active participation in the community and help them improve the product. As a result, they increase trading volume and revenue. Looking at the number of active users of Flow blockchain and comparing it with the other blockchains by looking at their growth might be helpful.
This section shows the monthly active users for Flow and other blockchains for the past 6 months. In November 2022, there was a sudden growth in the number of active users on Flow blockchain compared to previous months and the other blockchains (here we considered Ethereum and Near Blockchains). A trend of increasing active users can be observed.
Ethereum is the blockchain with the highest contribution (72.55%) to the total Active Users. It is followed by Flow in the next position after Ethereum. Maximum Active Users of 12.08M were observed in November 2022, while minimum Active Users of 3.29M were observed in June 2022. A sudden increase in Active Users was seen in November 2022, and Flow is the main contributor. As we know, Mattel is a manufacturer of toys that inspire the wonder of childhood! Flow’s Mattel Creations NFT Marketplace may have been launched with Mattel Creations’ NFT Marketplace, starting with the Hot Wheels Collection. We can expect the high number of active users on Flow in November 2022 as a result. There were so many users who were attracted to these new NFT’s. The tweet regarding that can be found here.
4/ More big brands with huge IPs and large communities are still choosing to build on Flow as well.
— Flowverse 🌊 – Discover Flow Blockchain (@flowverse_) November 27, 2022
Recently, Mattel announced that they will be launching their NFT marketplace on Flow, starting with the Hot Wheels collection 🏎https://t.co/G6sSgKWxeH
Below is a graph that shows transactions made by different blockchains involving active users over time. Due to the record amount of Flow Wallets that were active each month, active accounts on Flow followed a similar pattern to transactions. When we compare Nov 2022 with previous months, we can see a sudden increase in Flow transactions. Flow was the main contributor to the maximum number of 12.08 million active users observed in November 2022. The percentage of Active Users by Flow has nearly seven times increased from the previous month in November 2022.
We can determine how many transactions a user has performed on each blockchain on a monthly basis by looking at the number of transactions performed categories . In Flow Blockchain, Category 1-2 Transactions account for the majority of Active Users. A total of 88.67K Active Users (11-25 Transactions) is the lowest total, and a total of 7.14M Active Users (1-2 Transactions) is the highest. November 2022 saw an increase in total active users compared to normal. A category (1-2 transactions) is primarily responsible for this.
Among the five categories of transactions on the Ethereum blockchain, Category 1-2 Transactions contribute the most to the total number of Active Users. It was 845.73K transactions (more than 25) that were the lowest and 30.05M transactions (1-2) that were the highest. In June 2022, the total number of Active Users is lower than usual.
Among the five categories of transactions on the Near Protocol, Category 1-2 Transactions contribute the most to the total number of Active Users. It was 75.09K transactions (more than 25) that were the lowest and 2.65M transactions (1-2) that were the highest. In June 2022, the total number of Active Users is lower than usual. During September 2022 and thereafter, we can observe an increase in Near Protocol active users. Based on the graph below, we can see that all categories of active users are increasing in this blockchain.
Behavior Of May Registered Users , Their Activity In Subsequent Months
Any business that wants to succeed must retain customers. Performing just one transaction before leaving a service is unusual for the most loyal and best users. Their loyalty leads them to keep returning. They can improve their products as a result of their active involvement in the community. This leads to increased trading volume and revenue. As part of this process, we will consider the number of newly registered users in May and examine how many transactions these users performed in the months that followed. It might be helpful for us to understand how the Flow retains user activity.
We can see in this section , How often do users make another transaction one month later after making a transaction? Flow Blockchian’s number of newly registered users is considered in this section, and then we look at how many of those new users are active in subsequent months. Here we can see that the total number of newly registered users is 389.26K. Among them, very few users are expected to be active in the coming months. In November 2022, total active users increased by 11.98 times from 22.63K in June 2022 to 293.68K. November 2022 had a higher number of active users than usual.
According to statistics, in June, 22.63K users are active out of 389.36K users who registered newly in May. Thus, from this we can see only a 5% of newly registered users in May 2022 were active in June 2022.Likewise, when we look at Nov 2022, there are 293.68K active users out of 389.36K (Newly Registered Users in May). Thus, almost 40% of newly registered users in May 2022 were active in November 2022.
From the below graph we can see how many transactions active users did in subsequent months after they are registered in May 2022. We can see here in the graph below how the active users are divided into five different categories. Each month, we can see that the category ‘1-2 Transactions’ is more common than the other categories. Out of the 5 categories in each month, the category 1-2 Transactions contributes the highest percentage to the total Active Users. There are more than 25 transactions for the lowest active user, and fewer than 1-2 transactions for the highest active user. November 2022 recorded the highest number of active users of 293.68K. From October to November 2022, the number of active users increased 13 times. November 2022 had a higher number of active users than usual. In this case, the most important contributor is ‘1-2 transactions’.
Below are graphs showing the number of active users who registered in May and how active they are by their number of transactions during their subsequent months. From all the months, we can see the category 1-2 Transactions contributes the most to the total Active Users. In terms of transactions, more than 25 is the lowest. As a result, we can say that more new users registered in May were active in 1-2 transactions only. As a result, we can conclude that the retention of users’ activity occurs occasionally on Flow blockchain.
Thus, when the users find any interesting events happening, it is their activity that attracts the blockchain. Especially in November 2022, we can see that active users on Flow are increasing when compared with the previous months and also when compared with the other blockchains. Due to Flow’s Mattel Creations NFT Marketplace’s launch with the Hot Wheels Collection, this increase may have occurred. As a result of finding any interesting event on blockchain, users are constantly retaining their attention.
Observations
- Based on the above analysis, Flow blockchain had a sudden increase in active users in November 2022 compared to previous months and Ethereum and Near. It can be observed that active users are increasing.
- There are more active users on Ethereum than any other blockchain. Following Ethereum, Flow occupies the second position.
- There was an unexpected increase in Active Users in November 2022, which is mostly due to Flow. The Mattel brand is known for its toys that inspire childhood wonder! Flow may have launched its Mattel Creations NFT Marketplace alongside Mattel Creations’ NFT Marketplace with the Hot Wheels Collection. As a result, we can expect a high number of active users on Flow in November 2022. It was so evident that there were a lot of people attracted to these new NFTs.
- Over the previous month in November 2022, Flow’s Active Users increased by nearly seven times.
- Flow Blockchain’s Active Users are largely comprised of Category 1-2 Transactions. Accordingly, customer retention is not at a high level. There may be a reason for all this because of the bear market in the crypto market.
- Based on the above analysis, we can see there are 389.26K newly registered users in May. The statistics show that 22.63K users were active in June, out of 389.36K who had registered in May. Therefore, only 5% of newly registered users in May 2022 were active in June 2022. Similarly, in November 2022, there are 293.68K active users out of 389.36K new users. As a result, almost 40% of the newly registered users in May 2022 were active by November 2022.
- Analyzing all the months, we can see the category 1-2 Transactions contributes the most to Active Users. Consequently, we can conclude that more new users registered in May were active in 1-2 transactions only. Therefore, we can conclude that retention of user activity occurs occasionally on the Flow blockchain. Therefore, users are always paying attention to blockchain events if they find them interesting.
- A higher number of active users was observed in November 2022 than usual, according to analysis. It is likely that Flow’s Mattel Creations NFT Marketplace has been launched with the Hot Wheels Collection. This explains the sudden increase in active users in November. The activity of users indicates that special events are taking place on blockchains.
Reference Query
1.
WITH flow as (
SELECT
'Flow' as block_chain,
date_trunc(month, block_timestamp) as date,
count(distinct proposer) as active_users
from flow.core.fact_transactions
where block_timestamp >= CURRENT_DATE - {{days}}
GROUP BY date
),
eth as (
SELECT
'Ethereum' as block_chain,
date_trunc(month, block_timestamp) as date,
count(distinct from_address) as active_users
from ethereum.core.fact_transactions
where block_timestamp >= CURRENT_DATE - {{days}}
GROUP BY date
),
near as (
SELECT
'NEAR' as block_chain,
date_trunc(month, block_timestamp) as date,
count(distinct tx_signer) as active_users
from near.core.fact_transactions
where block_timestamp >= CURRENT_DATE - {{days}}
GROUP BY date
)
SELECT * FROM eth
UNION
SELECT * FROM flow
UNION
SELECT * FROM near
-------------------
2.
WITH flow as (
SELECT
block_chain,
date,
category,
count(proposer) as active_users
FROM (
SELECT
'Flow' as block_chain,
proposer,
date_trunc(month, block_timestamp) as date,
count(TX_ID) as txns,
case
when txns > 25 then 'More than 25 Transactions'
when txns > 10 then '11-25 Transactions'
when txns > 5 then '6- 10 Transactions'
when txns > 2 then '3 - 5 Transactions'
else '1-2 Transactions'
end category
from flow.core.fact_transactions
where block_timestamp >= CURRENT_DATE - {{days}}
GROUP BY date, proposer
)
GROUP BY block_chain, category, date
),
eth as (
SELECT
block_chain,
date,
category,
count(from_address) as active_users
FROM (
SELECT
'Ethereum' as block_chain,
from_address,
date_trunc(month, block_timestamp) as date,
count(tx_hash) as txns,
case
when txns > 25 then 'More than 25 Transactions'
when txns > 10 then '11-25 Transactions'
when txns > 5 then '6- 10 Transactions'
when txns > 2 then '3 - 5 Transactions'
else '1-2 Transactions'
end category
from ethereum.core.fact_transactions
where block_timestamp >= CURRENT_DATE - {{days}}
GROUP BY date, from_address
)
GROUP BY block_chain, category, date
),
near as (
SELECT
block_chain,
date,
category,
count(tx_signer) as active_users
FROM (
SELECT
'NEAR' as block_chain,
tx_signer,
date_trunc(month, block_timestamp) as date,
count(tx_hash) as txns,
case
when txns > 25 then 'More than 25 Transactions'
when txns > 10 then '11-25 Transactions'
when txns > 5 then '6- 10 Transactions'
when txns > 2 then '3 - 5 Transactions'
else '1-2 Transactions'
end category
from near.core.fact_transactions
where block_timestamp >= CURRENT_DATE - {{days}}
GROUP BY date, tx_signer
)
GROUP BY block_chain, category, date
)
SELECT * FROM flow
UNION
SELECT * FROM eth
UNION
SELECT * FROM near
---------------
3.
WITH flow_jan_2022 as (
select
proposer
FROM flow.core.fact_transactions
GROUP BY proposer
HAVING min(block_timestamp) BETWEEN '2022-05-01' AND '2022-06-01'
),
flow as (
SELECT
block_chain,
date,
category,
count(proposer) as active_users
FROM (
SELECT
'Flow' as block_chain,
proposer,
date_trunc(month, block_timestamp) as date,
count(TX_ID) as txns,
case
when txns > 25 then 'More than 25 Transactions'
when txns > 10 then '11-25 Transactions'
when txns > 5 then '6- 10 Transactions'
when txns > 2 then '3 - 5 Transactions'
else '1-2 Transactions'
end category
from flow.core.fact_transactions
where proposer IN (SELECT proposer FROM flow_jan_2022)
AND block_timestamp BETWEEN '2022-06-01' AND '2022-12-30'
GROUP BY date, proposer
)
GROUP BY block_chain, category, date
)
SELECT *
FROM flow
INNER JOIN (SELECT count(proposer) as may_new_users FROM flow_jan_2022)