MAU, WAU, DAU: Why Active Users Matter for Growth in Crypto

A product without users is like a fish without water. It won’t survive without it.  In Web3, simply connecting a wallet or signing up isn’t enough. True value lies in meaningful engagement, such as wallet transactions, their onchain activity on different chains, tokens, and DApps. That’s why tracking active users measured as DAU (Daily Active Users), WAU (Weekly Active Users), and MAU (Monthly Active Users) is essential for growth, retention, and monetization.

This guide explores how to measure and analyze key metrics in crypto, why they matter, and how to go beyond vanity numbers to uncover real product-market fit.

What is an Active User in Crypto?

In crypto, an Active User (or Active Wallet) refers to a wallet address that has performed at least one meaningful onchain or in-app activity within a given time frame (e.g., daily, weekly, monthly).

But beware:

• One person may control multiple wallets

• Some wallets are bots or sybils

• Receiving a transaction doesn’t equal engagement

DAU vs. WAU vs. MAU: Key Metrics Explained

Distinguish between DAU, WAU, and MAU

Why DAU, WAU, and MAU Matter for Crypto Growth

DAU, WAU, and MAU aren’t vanity metrics. They’re growth signals.

• DAU tells you how engaging your product is on a day-to-day basis.

• MAU helps assess community size, traction, and usage volume.

• DAU/MAU ratio reveals stickiness and loyalty. A ratio above 20% is excellent.

In crypto, high DAU/MAU = actual product-market fit, not just hype.

Benchmarks for DAU/WAU/MAU in Crypto and DeFi

Web3 operates differently from Web2. In Web2,  Sequoia Capital suggests a DAU/MAU ratio of 10-20%, with only a few companies exceeding 50%. In crypto, engagement varies widely by sector:

Tip: Don’t compare your DAU/MAU to Web2; compare it to your previous months and segment your user base.

Go Beyond DAU/MAU: Meet the Power User

Tracking DAU, WAU, and MAU is critical, but successful dApps don’t just have active users, they have power users. These are highly engaged users who return frequently and drive product success.

Instead of just looking at average engagement, a power user curve helps visualize user distribution. A “smiling” power user curve (where a significant portion of users are highly active) indicates strong community loyalty. If the curve is flat, it signals low engagement and high churn, requiring product or incentive improvements.

Why MAU Impacts Crypto Product Performance

Monthly Active Users (MAU) is a key indicator of user engagement, adoption, and product-market fit in crypto. A high or growing MAU signals strong community interest and healthy onchain activity, while a low MAU may indicate retention or usability issues. 

Retention & Wallet Churn

Retention tracks how many users stick with your product over time. Retention in crypto is about meaningful wallet activity. 

Comparing new wallet interactions vs. MAU/DAU helps you: 

• Identify wallet churn: Are users disappearing after an airdrop or staking period? 

• Track engagement stickiness: Are wallets consistently interacting with your dApp? 

Onchain Engagement & Stickiness

Different crypto apps have different usage frequencies:

• DeFi apps may see periodic interactions (e.g., yield farming, staking withdrawals).

• NFT marketplaces may spike during minting events but drop afterward.

• DAOs may see engagement only around governance votes.

Tracking DAU/MAU helps monitor how sticky your dApp is. If engagement is low, consider:

• Personalized notifications

• Community-driven features

• Gamification and rewards

Monetization & Revenue Forecasting

If your MAU is growing but revenue isn’t, your monetization strategy may need refining. Questions to ask:

• Are users finding value in the dApp?

• Are transaction fees or staking requirements creating friction?

• Is the tokenomics model encouraging long-term holding?

Improving your pricing, wallet messaging, and trial experiences can boost conversions.

For crypto projects, MAU isn’t just a metric—it impacts token demand, DAO governance participation, and protocol fees. A growing active user base suggests a healthier ecosystem, but without engagement and retention, growth won’t translate to sustainability. Regularly analyzing MAU with onchain data to optimize marketing spend, secure funding, and drive sustainable growth.

Why Active Users Matter for Product-Led Growth (PLG)

In a PLG strategy, the product itself drives user acquisition, engagement, and retention. The more active users interact with the product, the more value they get, leading to organic growth through word of mouth, community effects, and data-driven optimizations. 

In crypto and DeFi, growth comes from users experiencing real value, not ads. Metrics such as DAU, WAU, and MAU are critical for tracking engagement, retention, and conversion. 

Crypto-native product analytics tools like Formo help you track active wallets, analyze user interactions with dApps, and bridge onchain activity with Web2 engagements.

Measuring Product-Led Growth With Active User Metrics

Tracking MAU, DAU, and WAU is just the beginning. The real power comes from analyzing trends and acting on insights:

Scenario 1: MAU is growing, but wallet retention is low. 

A successful marketing campaign brings in new users, but if time-to-value (TTV) is too long, they’ll leave before realizing the product’s value.  Solution: Reduce onboarding friction and help users reach the “aha” moment faster.

Scenario 2: High engagement but low transaction volume. 

The incentive model might be flawed if wallets interact frequently but don’t contribute to liquidity.  Solution: Improve staking yield structures 

Scenario 3: DAU/WAU ratio is low. 

Users who engage only occasionally may not see recurring value in your dApp. Solution: Use nudges, notifications, and personalization to encourage habitual use.

Lens Protocol: DAU/MAU Ratio and User Engagement

As of late 2022, Lens Protocol had over 160,000 unique users, with daily active users (DAU) peaking at over 12,000 and averaging around 1,100. This suggests a DAU/MAU ratio ranging from approximately 0.7% to 7.5%, depending on the specific month and user activity levels. 

In early 2023, the platform experienced a surge in activity, with daily active users reaching up to 20,000. Following the suspension of free Profile NFT minting in April 2023, daily active users declined to around 3,000, despite having over 100,000 total profiles. This indicates a DAU/MAU ratio of less than 3%, highlighting challenges in user retention and engagement.

These fluctuations underscore the importance of monitoring DAU/MAU ratios in crypto apps to assess user engagement and the effectiveness of growth strategies.

GA4 vs. Formo: How “Active Users” Are Measured

The differences between active users in GA4 and Formo Analytics

In GA4 (Google Analytics 4), an “active user” must have an engaged session. In Formo, we define an active wallet as one performing meaningful onchain or in-app activity.

How to Track MAU in Formo

DAUs/MAUs are unreliable in crypto due to pseudonymity and Sybil attacks. To filter real users, exclude dispersion-funded addresses, remove transient ones with near-zero balances, and flag bots by transaction patterns. 

Formo simplifies analytics for crypto teams by tracking key metrics including active wallets and transaction counts. Here’s how:

1. Go to the “Overview” section for a detailed user breakdown.

2. Select a time range and apply filters.

3. Track DAU, MAU, or WAU by day, week, or month.

Once you track active wallets, you can segment them by transaction volume, in-app behavior, and onchain data, unlocking deeper insights for crypto growth teams.

From Insights to Action: Turn Data into Growth

Tracking DAUs, MAUs, and WAUs by cohort is key to refining your PLG strategy and driving sustainable growth.

It all starts with measuring key crypto growth metrics such as active users, setting benchmarks, and optimizing user flows to build better products.

Formo empowers crypto product and marketing teams teams with deep user insights, helping you identify active users, segment them by behavior, and optimize your product-led growth. Ready to get started? Book a demo.

Further sources: 

• How To Acquire Active Users  (DAU, WAU, MAU) in Web3

• Understanding Web3 User Profiles: A Comprehensive Guide

• Mastering the Web3 User Lifecycle: A Complete Guide

Follow us on LinkedIn and X for more onchain growth insights.

FAQs

What is the difference between DAU, WAU, and MAU in Web3?

DAU (Daily Active Users), WAU (Weekly Active Users), and MAU (Monthly Active Users) measure how many unique wallets perform meaningful activity over a day, week, or month. The best metric depends on how often users naturally engage with your product. DAU is most useful for products with daily engagement such as blockchain games or social apps. WAU is often the best fit for DeFi protocols where users transact several times per week. MAU measures overall adoption and long-term growth for products with less frequent usage. In Web3, active users should be defined by meaningful wallet activity rather than website visits alone.

What counts as an active user in Web3?

An active user in Web3 is a wallet that completes a meaningful action within your protocol during a specific time period. Depending on your product, this could include swapping tokens, staking assets, depositing liquidity, borrowing, voting in governance, minting NFTs, or interacting with a smart contract. Simply visiting your website or connecting a wallet without taking further action usually does not represent meaningful engagement.

Which active user metric should I track: DAU, WAU, or MAU?

The right metric depends on your protocol’s usage patterns. Daily products such as Web3 games benefit from tracking DAU because players are expected to return every day. Most DeFi applications should focus on WAU because users often trade, lend, or stake multiple times per week. Wallets, infrastructure products, and governance protocols frequently prioritize MAU because users interact less often. Many successful teams monitor all three metrics together to understand both growth and engagement.

What is a good DAU-to-MAU ratio in Web3?

The DAU-to-MAU ratio measures product stickiness by showing how often monthly users return. A higher ratio generally indicates stronger engagement, although the ideal benchmark depends on your product category. Rather than comparing your protocol to unrelated Web2 products, compare your ratio over time and against similar Web3 protocols. Consistent improvement usually signals increasing user retention and product value.

Why is the DAU-to-MAU ratio more useful than total active users?

Total active users measure audience size, but they do not show how frequently users return. The DAU-to-MAU ratio reveals engagement quality. A protocol with 100,000 monthly active wallets but a low ratio may struggle with retention, while a smaller protocol with a much higher ratio often has stronger product-market fit and healthier long-term growth. Looking at both metrics together provides a more complete picture of protocol health.

How do I measure active users accurately in Web3?

Accurately measuring active users requires more than counting wallet addresses. Teams should define protocol-specific activation events, filter bots and Sybil wallets, remove dust transactions where appropriate, and measure users based on meaningful onchain activity. Wallet intelligence and identity resolution also help distinguish genuine users from automated wallets and incentive farmers, producing more reliable engagement metrics.

Can Google Analytics measure Web3 active users?

Google Analytics 4 measures users through web sessions, page views, and browser events. It does not natively understand wallet addresses, smart contract interactions, or onchain transactions. While it can measure website engagement, it cannot accurately report active wallets or blockchain activity without significant custom engineering.

How does Formo measure active users differently from Google Analytics?

Formo uses wallet-based identity instead of browser sessions or cookies. It automatically connects web sessions with wallet addresses and tracks meaningful blockchain activity such as wallet connections, swaps, deposits, staking, governance participation, and smart contract interactions across more than 40 EVM-compatible chains. This gives Web3 teams a unified view of user engagement across both offchain and onchain activity.