A product without users is like a fish without water—it won’t survive. Users who simply connect a wallet and sign up are not enough either. An active user is someone who engages with a platform or application in a meaningful way, typically involving interacting with blockchain technology or decentralized applications (dApps), such as making transactions, accessing services, or participating in the ecosystem.
Tracking active users through metrics such as DAU, MAU, and WAU is critical for measuring a dApp’s growth and revenue potential. While advanced metrics like conversion and retention provide deeper insights, active user metrics provide the foundation for evaluating product performance. Here’s how it works.
What is an Active User?
Active users refer to the number of unique users who engage with an app or website during a specific period. This metric helps measure growth, retention, and product stickiness.
MAU vs. DAU vs. WAU in Web3
Depending on your Web3 product, you’ll focus on different time-based user activity metrics:
MAU (Monthly Active Users): Measures how many unique wallets interact with your dApp within a month.
WAU (Weekly Active Users): Tracks daily engagement, ideal for high-frequency interactions such as DeFi platforms or gaming.
DAU (Daily Active Users): Best suited for dApps with medium engagement cycles, such as governance platforms or NFT marketplaces.
For example, a decentralized social network should focus on DAUs, while a DAO treasury dashboard might find MAUs more relevant.
DAU, WAU, MAU industry benchmarks
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 Web3, engagement varies widely by sector:
DeFi protocols often see lower DAU/MAU ratios, as users interact only when needed.
Gaming dApps thrive on high DAU numbers.
NFT marketplaces experience spikes in WAU during major drops.:
Instead of benchmarking against traditional Web2 metrics, compare your current user engagement with past performance and track trends over time.
Beyond DAU/MAU: The Power User Curve
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.
How MAU Impacts Web3 Product Performance
MAU & Retention: Tracking Wallet Churn
Retention tracks how many users stick with your product over time. Retention in Web3 isn’t just about users—it’s about 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?
MAU & Onchain Engagement: Measuring Stickiness
Different Web3 products 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
MAU & Web3 Monetization: Turning Users into Customers
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.
MAU & Revenue: Forecasting Web3 Growth
For Web3 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.
Key takeaway: Regularly analyzing MAU with onchain data to optimize marketing spend, secure funding, and drive sustainable growth.
Web3 Active Users in the Product-Led Growth (PLG) Era
Why Web3 Active Users Matter in PLG
Web3 user acquisition isn’t about ads but about letting users experience value firsthand. That’s why active user metrics like DAU, WAU, and MAU are important for tracking Web3 engagement, retention, and conversion.Web3 product analytics tools like Formo help you track active wallets, analyze user interactions with dApps, and bridge onchain activity with Web2 engagements.
Using Active User Metrics to Optimize PLG
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.
If wallets interact frequently but don’t contribute to liquidity, the incentive model might be flawed. Solution: Improve staking yield structures
Scenario 3: DAU/WAU ratio is low.
If users engage only occasionally, they may not see recurring value in your dApp. Solution: Use nudges, notifications, and personalization to encourage habitual use.
How to measure 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 Web3 analytics by tracking active wallets beyond simple transaction counts. Here’s how:
Go to the "Overview" section for a detailed user breakdown.
Select a time range and apply filters.
Track DAU, MAU, or WAU by day, week, or month.
Once you track active wallets, you can segment them by transaction volume, token holding behavior, and onchain activity, unlocking deeper insights for growth.
Turning Active User Data into Growth Strategies
Tracking DAUs, MAUs, and WAUs by cohort is key to refining your PLG strategy and driving sustainable growth. It all starts with measuring active users, setting benchmarks, and optimizing user flows to build better products. Formo empowers Web3 teams with deep user insights, helping you identify active users, segment them by behavior, and optimize your product-led gr. Leverage data-driven decisions to thrive your dApp’s success.
Follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter, and join our community to learn how Formo turbocharges growth for leading teams across web3!
