Is crypto dead?

It's not. Let's explore the state of crypto through the lens of fundamentals.

In this article, we provide a snapshot of the crypto market with the following metrics:

1. Fees
2. Revenue
3. Token incentives
4. Earnings
5. Price to fees (P/F) and price to sales (P/S) ratios
6. Daily active users
7. Active developers

1. Fees

This metric tells us how much end users are willing to pay for the service that a protocol provides.

Examples:

Blockchains = transaction fees

Ethereum dashboard: https://tokenterminal.com/terminal/projects/ethereum

DEXs = trading fees

Uniswap dashboard: https://tokenterminal.com/terminal/projects/uniswap

Lending protocols = interest

Aave dashboard: https://tokenterminal.com/terminal/projects/aave

NFT marketplaces = royalties and marketplace fees

OpenSea dashboard: https://tokenterminal.com/terminal/projects/opensea

Cumulative fees to date

To date, the crypto market has generated ~$33B in aggregate fees.

Fees dashboard: https://tokenterminal.com/terminal/metrics/fees

2. Revenue

This metric tells us how much the protocol captures of the fees paid by end users, which means that it’s always some % of the fees.

Ethereum dashboard: https://tokenterminal.com/terminal/projects/ethereum

Uniswap dashboard: https://tokenterminal.com/terminal/projects/uniswap

OpenSea dashboard: https://tokenterminal.com/terminal/projects/opensea

Aave dashboard: https://tokenterminal.com/terminal/projects/aave

Cumulative revenue to date

To date, the crypto market has generated ~$15B in aggregate revenue.

Revenue dashboard: https://tokenterminal.com/terminal/metrics/revenue

3. Token incentives

This metric tells how much the protocol spends on user acquisition by issuing & distributing its governance tokens to users.

It's worthwhile to analyze this metric as a % of revenue, to get a sense of the economic sustainability of a protocol.

Ethereum dashboard: https://tokenterminal.com/terminal/projects/ethereum

Uniswap dashboard: https://tokenterminal.com/terminal/projects/uniswap

OpenSea dashboard: https://tokenterminal.com/terminal/projects/opensea

Aave dashboard: https://tokenterminal.com/terminal/projects/aave

Cumulative token incentives to date

To date, the crypto market has spent ~$100B+ in aggregate on token incentives.

Earnings leaderboard: https://tokenterminal.com/leaderboards/earnings

4. Earnings

This metric tells us how much the protocol has left of the revenue after subtracting the token incentives.

This metric should still be subtracted by the operational expenses of the DAO to arrive at a true net income figure.

Ethereum dashboard: https://tokenterminal.com/terminal/projects/ethereum

Uniswap dashboard: https://tokenterminal.com/terminal/projects/uniswap

OpenSea dashboard: https://tokenterminal.com/terminal/projects/opensea

Aave dashboard: https://tokenterminal.com/terminal/projects/aave

Cumulative earnings to date

To date, the crypto market has generated ~$1B+ in aggregate earnings.

Earnings leaderboard: https://tokenterminal.com/leaderboards/earnings

5. The price to fees (P/F) and price to sales (P/S) ratios

Price to fees (P/F) ratio

This metric tells us the relationship between a protocol’s market capitalization and the fees it generates per year.

All things equal, a lower ratio is usually better from an investor’s point of view.

Price to sales (P/S) ratio

This metric tells us the relationship between a protocol’s market capitalization and the revenue it generates per year.

All things equal, a lower ratio is usually better from an investor’s point of view.

Ethereum dashboard: https://tokenterminal.com/terminal/projects/ethereum

Uniswap dashboard: https://tokenterminal.com/terminal/projects/uniswap

Lido dashboard: https://tokenterminal.com/terminal/projects/lido-finance

Aave dashboard: https://tokenterminal.com/terminal/projects/aave

Snapshot of the latest P/F ratios

Currently, there are 15 protocols with a P/F ratio below 10.00x.

P/F dashboard: https://tokenterminal.com/terminal/metrics/pf

Snapshot of the latest P/S ratios

Currently, there are 4 protocols with a P/S ratio below 10.00x.

P/S dashboard: https://tokenterminal.com/terminal/metrics/ps

6. Daily active users

This metric tells us how many unique addresses call a protocol’s revenue-generating smart contract functions.

DAUs should be viewed together w/ the fees metric to understand how much each DAU is paying (easier to have more users if the service is cheap).

Ethereum dashboard: https://tokenterminal.com/terminal/projects/ethereum

Uniswap dashboard: https://tokenterminal.com/terminal/projects/uniswap

OpenSea dashboard: https://tokenterminal.com/terminal/projects/opensea

Aave dashboard: https://tokenterminal.com/terminal/projects/aave

Current aggregate DAU figure

Currently, there are ~2.5M daily active users among the most widely used protocols.

Active Users dashboard: https://tokenterminal.com/terminal/metrics/active-users

7. Active developers

This metric tells us how many developers are working on building the core protocol.

It’s a good proxy for “developer leverage” when viewed alongside other fundamentals. E.g. fees, revenue, or earnings per developer.

Ethereum dashboard: https://tokenterminal.com/terminal/projects/ethereum

Uniswap dashboard: https://tokenterminal.com/terminal/projects/uniswap

OpenSea dashboard: https://tokenterminal.com/terminal/projects/opensea

Aave dashboard: https://tokenterminal.com/terminal/projects/aave

Current aggregate active developer figure

Currently, there are ~1.7k active (core) developers working on the most widely used protocols.

Active Developers dashboard: https://tokenterminal.com/terminal/metrics/active-developers

Thank you for reading! All of the data presented in this article can be found for free on Token Terminal.

The authors of this content, or members, affiliates, or stakeholders of Token Terminal may be participating or are invested in protocols or tokens mentioned herein. The foregoing statement acts as a disclosure of potential conflicts of interest and is not a recommendation to purchase or invest in any token or participate in any protocol. Token Terminal does not recommend any particular course of action in relation to any token or protocol. The content herein is meant purely for educational and informational purposes only, and should not be relied upon as financial, investment, legal, tax or any other professional or other advice. None of the content and information herein is presented to induce or to attempt to induce any reader or other person to buy, sell or hold any token or participate in any protocol or enter into, or offer to enter into, any agreement for or with a view to buying or selling any token or participating in any protocol. Statements made herein (including statements of opinion, if any) are wholly generic and not tailored to take into account the personal needs and unique circumstances of any reader or any other person. Readers are strongly urged to exercise caution and have regard to their own personal needs and circumstances before making any decision to buy or sell any token or participate in any protocol. Observations and views expressed herein may be changed by Token Terminal at any time without notice. Token Terminal accepts no liability whatsoever for any losses or liabilities arising from the use of or reliance on any of this content.