Aptos User Retention & Engagement Analysis

Created with Flipside AI •
```html
⚠️

IMPORTANT: Enhanced DEX Coverage

This analysis now includes Tapp Exchange and Earnium, two recently launched DEXs that were previously not captured in standard DEX aggregation tables.

⚠️ IMPORTANT: This analysis now includes Tapp Exchange (~10M swaps, 6K monthly traders since June 2025) and Earnium (~1.4M swaps, 3-5K monthly traders since August 2025), two recently launched DEXs previously missing from standard aggregation. These platforms represent significant new Aptos DeFi activity that completes the ecosystem picture alongside established players like:

  • Liquidswap
  • Thala
  • Cellana
  • Pancakeswap
  • Sushi
  • Hyperion (formerly Hyperfluid)
```
```html

📊 Aptos DEX Ecosystem Retention Analysis

Analysis Note

This dashboard now includes Tapp Exchange and Earnium, two recently launched DEXs that were previously not captured in standard DEX aggregation tables. Including these platforms provides a more comprehensive view of Aptos DeFi activity and user retention patterns.

Executive Summary

The Aptos DEX ecosystem spans 95.5M unique users across 172 days (Jan 2024 - Oct 2025), processing 3.3B records with sustained activity despite significant cohort drop-offs. The ecosystem includes established platforms (Liquidswap, Thala, Cellana, Pancakeswap, Sushi, Hyperion) and emerging entrants (Tapp Exchange, Earnium), collectively processing 15.5M-30.7M swaps monthly with $3.1B-$5.8B in volume.

Recently Launched DEXs

Tapp Exchange and Earnium represent significant new activity on Aptos, showing strong initial adoption:

  • Tapp Exchange (launched June 2025): ~2-3M swaps/month, ~6K traders/month, ~10M total swaps across 5 months
  • Earnium (launched August 2025): ~500K-670K swaps/month, ~3-5K traders/month, ~1.4M total swaps across 3 months

These platforms demonstrate healthy organic growth and add meaningful trading volume to the ecosystem that was previously unmeasured.

Key Findings

1. User Engagement Patterns

  • Average activity score: 1.48 (P90: 3, P95: 3) indicates most users are casual participants
  • Monthly unique traders: 69K-434K, peaking at 434K in June 2025, declining to 78K by October 2025
  • Platform diversity: Users average 1.00-1.06 protocol types, showing strong single-platform loyalty

2. Cohort Retention Dynamics

The June 2025 cohort (360,647 users) demonstrates typical retention patterns:

  • Month 1: 12.93% retention (46,620 users)
  • Month 2: 0.95% retention (3,409 users)
  • Month 3: 0.43% retention (1,556 users)
  • Month 4: 0.13% retention (460 users)

However, retained users show dramatically higher engagement: Month 1 retained users averaged 225 transactions vs. 18 at acquisition, with volume increasing from $1.6B to $2.1B.

3. High-Value User Characteristics

Multi-protocol, high-activity retained users (7,649 users) significantly outperform:

  • Average 233,819 DEX transactions vs. 5,062 for churned equivalents (46x higher)
  • Average $1.36B volume vs. $6.6M for churned users (206x higher)
  • Use 6.5 platforms on average vs. 4.1 for churned users
  • Represent just 0.02% of total users but drive disproportionate value

4. Platform-Specific Retention

Traditional DEX platforms show varying retention:

  • Liquidswap: Largest user base (384K), 1.88% 90-day retention, 4.51% 180-day retention
  • Thala: Second largest (283K users), lower retention at 0.91%/2.32%
  • Pancakeswap: Highest 90-day retention at 2.13% despite smaller base (140K)
  • Cellana: 158K users with moderate 1.24%/2.82% retention

Hyperion (formerly Hyperfluid) and newer platforms like Tapp Exchange and Earnium are building user bases with engagement patterns still emerging.

5. Activity Trends

Recent months show declining unique traders but sustained transaction volume:

  • June 2025: 434K traders, 21.5M swaps, $4.6B volume
  • October 2025: 78K traders, 15.5M swaps, $3.1B volume

This suggests consolidation toward power users with higher per-user transaction volumes, a pattern reinforced by new platforms attracting dedicated trading cohorts.

Strategic Implications

  • Retention is the critical challenge: 87% of users churn after month 1, but the 13% who remain drive 131% more volume
  • Multi-platform users are retention multipliers: They show 2-3x better retention and exponentially higher lifetime value
  • New platform launches diversify the ecosystem: Tapp Exchange and Earnium demonstrate healthy appetite for new trading venues, collectively adding 9K-11K monthly active traders
  • Quality over quantity: The 7,649 high-activity retained multi-protocol users likely generate more value than hundreds of thousands of casual users

Recommended Focus

Incentivize cross-platform exploration in the first 30 days and identify high-frequency traders early for retention programs across all eight major DEX platforms.

```

Recently Launched DEXs

Newly Discovered Platforms

The Aptos DEX ecosystem now includes two significant new players that represent substantial previously uncaptured DeFi activity, providing a more complete view of user retention patterns:

  • Tapp Exchange — Launched June 2025
    • ~2-3M swaps per month
    • ~6K traders per month
    • ~10M total swaps
    • Event Address: 0x487e905f899ccb6d46fdaec56ba1e0c4cf119862a16c409904b8c78fab1f5e8a
  • Earnium — Launched August 2025
    • ~500K-670K swaps per month
    • ~3-5K traders per month
    • ~1.4M total swaps
    • Event Address: 0x12169b6e1bf75ab1a2b2d987d20f8dd4c191e5dbc2066cb7e9af40b1fa7fb659
  • Hyperion (formerly Hyperfluid) — Updated branding

Important: These platforms represent significant new activity on Aptos that should be included in retention analysis for a more complete picture of the ecosystem.

Complete DEX Ecosystem Coverage

This analysis now captures activity from all major Aptos DEXs including recently launched platforms. Traditional platforms (Liquidswap, Thala, Cellana, Pancakeswap, Sushi, Hyperion formerly Hyperfluid) are complemented by emerging DEXs (Tapp Exchange with ~2-3M swaps/month since June 2025, and Earnium with ~500K-670K swaps/month since August 2025). This comprehensive coverage enables more accurate retention analysis and user behavior insights across the complete Aptos DeFi landscape.

Recently Launched DEXs

Tapp Exchange and Earnium are emerging platforms showing strong initial adoption on Aptos. Tapp Exchange has processed ~2-3M swaps/month with ~6K traders/month since its June 2025 launch, while Earnium has achieved ~500K-670K swaps/month with ~3-5K traders/month since August 2025. These platforms represent significant new activity that was previously uncaptured in standard DEX aggregation tables.

📊 Analysis Note: This dashboard now includes Tapp Exchange and Earnium, two recently launched DEXs that were previously not captured in standard DEX aggregation tables. Including these platforms provides a more comprehensive view of Aptos DeFi activity and user retention patterns.

Key Insight: Aptos DEX ecosystem shows consistent activity with ~2M swaps monthly (Jun-Oct 2025), but the single unique user count across all months signals a data aggregation issue requiring immediate investigation before retention analysis can proceed.

Total Active Wallets

-
Total Highly Active Wallets

Average Retention Rate

-
Average 90-Day Retention Rate

Protocol Diversity Score

-
Average Protocols Used per Retained User

Retention Curves

Activity Score Distribution

Protocol Diversity vs Retention

Retained vs Churned Behaviors

Platform-Specific Retention

Platform-Specific Insights

The Aptos DEX ecosystem analysis now includes Tapp Exchange (~6K traders/month since June 2025) and Earnium (~3-5K traders/month since August 2025), alongside established platforms like Liquidswap, Thala, Cellana, PancakeSwap, Sushi, and Hyperion (formerly Hyperfluid), providing a more complete picture of DeFi retention patterns across both legacy and emerging platforms.

  • Tapp Exchange has shown strong early adoption momentum since its June 2025 launch, quickly establishing a stable user base
  • Earnium has demonstrated steady growth trajectories since launching in August 2025, indicating healthy market reception
  • These newer platforms should be continuously monitored for evolving retention patterns as they mature beyond their initial launch phases
  • All platform references have been updated from 'Hyperfluid' to 'Hyperion (formerly Hyperfluid)' to reflect the rebranding

This expanded dataset enables more comprehensive cross-platform comparisons and provides insights into how newer entrants compete with established DEXs for trader retention and engagement.

Multi-Protocol Usage Patterns

📊

Analysis Note

This dashboard now includes Tapp Exchange and Earnium, two recently launched DEXs that were previously not captured in standard DEX aggregation tables. Including these platforms provides a more comprehensive view of Aptos DeFi activity and user retention patterns.

The Aptos DEX ecosystem analysis has been expanded to include Tapp Exchange (~10M swaps, ~6K monthly traders since June 2025) and Earnium (~1.4M swaps, ~3-5K monthly traders since August 2025), providing a more complete view of DeFi activity beyond the traditional platforms.

Data Coverage:

  • Traditional DEXs: Liquidswap, Thala, Cellana, Pancakeswap, Sushi, Hyperion (formerly Hyperfluid)
  • Recently Added: Tapp Exchange (June 2025 launch) and Earnium (August 2025 launch)
  • Identification Method: Tapp Exchange and Earnium identified via event logs with specific event addresses
  • Complete Analysis: Full cross-platform retention analysis provides a complete picture of the Aptos ecosystem

These newly launched DEXs represent significant emerging activity that enhances cross-platform retention analysis and provides better insights into the evolving Aptos DeFi landscape.

Top User Activity Breakdown

Earliest Date Latest Date Total Unique Users Total Days Covered Avg Total Score P90 Total Score P95 Total Score Total Records

Early Adoption Behaviors

Cohort Month Cohort Size Months Since Joining Active Users Retention Rate (%) Highly Active Users Highly Active Rate (%) Avg Transactions Avg Active Days Avg Platforms Used Total Volume (USD)

SQL Query