First green shoots of growth from Loom Network
Layer 2 network is scaling
Many metrics can be used to measure success.
For a Layer 2 delegated proof of stake blockchain such as Loom Network, the first that comes to mind is token price — down 73% year-on-year — or perhaps the percent of tokens being staked — currently 41% of circulating supply.
However, as a blockchain designed to provide scalability and UX for dapp developers, the adoption of the technology by developers should be the primary concern.
After all, in the long term, usage will increase the amount of tokens staked, presumably also resulting in upward pressure on token price.
When it comes to developers, to-date Loom has been particularly successful in signing up game developers. Partly this comes from continued dominance of Ethereum as a go-to blockchain for such dapps.
Not only does it offer the most mature tools and ecosystem but its proof-of-work consensus model means using a Layer 2 solution like Loom is vital to create an experience that offers more interaction and immersion than say CryptoKitties.
And that’s the context for Loom’s use in forthcoming high profile projects such as Neon District, Battle Racers, and Coins & Steel.
More significantly, there are a number of projects in testing with Loom, which provides the opportunity to gain additional data about its current usage levels.
Finding significance
At DappRadar, we’re currently tracking eight dapps that are using Loom; four games, one marketplace, one finance dapp, one collectible and Loom’s staking app.
Some of these dapps, such as CryptoRaves, Alice and Sorare, are in the very early stages of development/pre-launch and hence don’t provide much useful information. Even a live game such as Axie Infinity is currently only using Loom for a specific element — its land marketplace — which limits its users.
But in their own ways, the four remaining dapps are significant.
Most obviously, tracking the PlasmaChain Staking dapp shows user behavior in terms of staking Loom tokens.
As staking locks up tokens for a period of time, ranging from a couple of months to a year, this dapp isn’t a high frequency experience. At best, users will periodically log in to claim and restake their rewards — currently up to 10% of Loom tokens staked annually.
In that context, the PlasmaChain Staking dapp has an average daily audience of around 80.
Relentless (previously Zombie Battleground) is Loom’s internally-developed trading card game. It’s in open beta and is supported by the Loom MarketPlace, where you can buy NFT cards to use in the game.
For that reason, it makes sense to combine the stats for both, although Relentless with an average of 180 daily users makes up the bulk. The Loom MarketPlace averages around 35 daily users.
The final dapp to consider is CryptoWars. A strategy game from Argentine developer Experimental/e11, it’s been in testing since the start of 2019. But, because the game is only live for specific periods — originally tournaments lasted 2 weeks, now just three hours — its user data is volatile.
Hence, its average of over 90 daily users is less important than its peak activity of 416 recorded in late July.
The overall picture
Combining these together, it’s clear Loom Network’s remains a work-in-process.
The trend is up both in terms of daily active users and DAUs averaged over 90 days. But with a combined total of well under 1,000 DAUs from all eight dapps, it’s yet to demonstrate a level of scalability for any one dapp to break into the top 10 ranking for any dapp category in terms of user numbers.
Where Loom does impress, however, is the number of transactions it’s generating.
For example, looking at the games category, both CryptoWars and Relentless are ranked in the top 10 with respect to the number of transactions, across 24 hrs and 7 day periods. In contrast, the highest ranked Ethereum game by transaction volume is CryptoKitties at number 12.
Of course, transactions are a secondary metric, and one that’s reliant as much on game design as user numbers. Still, if nothing else, Loom is already demonstrating that it’s providing the required functionality for Ethereum-based dapps to match the UX of Layer 1 delegated proof of stake blockchains such as EOS and TRON.
So, while Loom might not yet have fulfilled its promise, it is making its mark on the dapp ecosystem. In other words, watch this space.
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