Active Addresses
The number of distinct wallet addresses that actively interacted with a blockchain. This includes addresses that initiated a transaction or executed a smart contract call — in other words, addresses that were active onchain.
About this metric
What does Active Addresses tell you?
Active addresses is a key onchain metric for measuring user activity and engagement on a blockchain network. While not a perfect proxy for unique users - since one person can control multiple wallets - it still provides valuable insight into how many independent participants are interacting with the network over time.
How is Active Addresses calculated?
At deltapools, we analyze every transaction and count unique 'from' addresses per time period (daily, weekly, or monthly). Unlike some other data providers, we exclude 'to' addresses, since they represent passive recipients rather than active participants. This approach ensures that our active address metric reflects real user-initiated activity. This onchain metric is also often called 'Daily Active Users (DAU)', 'Unique Wallets (UW)', or 'Number of Users'.
How can Active Addresses be gamed?
Active address is one of the most contentious metrics. Its counts can be inflated through sybil behavior, where many fake wallets are created to simulate activity - often during airdrops or incentive campaigns. For this reason, it's best to always interpret active addresses alongside other onchain metrics like Chain Revenue or Total Value Secured as well as looking into the most active contracts on this chain to get a full picture of real network engagement.
How to interpret Active Addresses?
A rising number of active addresses generally indicates growing user interest and adoption of the blockchain, while a declining count may signal waning engagement. However, it's important to consider active addresses in context with other metrics, as high activity doesn't always equate to a healthy or valuable network.
