Venom Foundation: Most “Active Addresses” Aren’t Real Users
Venom Foundation published a research report today examining the reliability of "active addresses," the metric most commonly used to measure blockchain adoption. The report, "Beyond Active Addresses," concludes that a substantial share of reported active addresses across major networks is generated by bots, airdrop farmers, exchange infrastructure and automated smart-contract activity, and that the metric should no longer be treated as a proxy for real users.
The report pulls on publicly available evidence and introduces Venom Foundation's own analytical framework, which scores adoption metrics by manipulation cost and maps the structural design factors that mechanically inflate address counts across major networks. It does not single out any individual blockchain; its aim is to document a measurement problem that affects the entire industry.
Among the evidence reviewed: in its State of Crypto 2025 report, a16z crypto measured approximately 181 million monthly active addresses on-chain while estimating only 40–70 million real monthly users behind them. In January 2025, Ethereum layer-2 network Linea, working with analytics firm Nansen, flagged approximately 40% of its 1.3 million airdrop-eligible addresses as likely Sybil accounts, even though every address had already passed Proof of Humanity verification. A year earlier, cross-chain protocol LayerZero flagged over 800,000 addresses (roughly 13% of its entire eligible base of six million) as likely Sybils created to farm token rewards.
Key findings
-
Address counts can exceed underlying user numbers by a substantial margin – the most rigorous public estimates, from a16z crypto's 2024 and 2025 reports, show the pattern holding across both years.
-
Sybil filtering removes large shares of apparent user bases even after identity checks – Linea's 2025 analysis with Nansen flagged approximately 40% of addresses that had already passed Proof of Humanity.
-
Individual farming operations have controlled thousands of addresses; during the Arbitrum airdrop, analysts traced 2.7 million ARB tokens flowing to two entities through 1,496 farming wallets.
-
Blockchain design inflates counts without any manipulation – Bitcoin-style wallets rotate addresses for privacy, smart contracts and account-abstraction wallets each carry their own addresses, and exchanges operate millions of deposit addresses.
-
The industry's own adjusted metrics confirm the scale of the problem – a16z reports roughly $9 trillion in adjusted stablecoin volume against $46 trillion in raw volume, with the adjustment designed to filter bots and inflationary activity.
-
Venom's metric-robustness framework finds that the indicators hardest to fake – returning wallets, fee-paying users, protocol revenue and active developers – are the ones the industry quotes least often.
Executive Comment
"The industry keeps grading itself on a metric that anyone with a laptop can inflate overnight," said Christopher Louis Tsu, CEO of Venom Foundation. "This is a problem for everyone building serious infrastructure, because capital, grants and attention flow toward the flashiest numbers rather than the ones that reflect actual durability. Our intention with this research is constructive: the analytics tools for measuring genuine, retained, fee-paying usage already exist. If networks, investors and the media converge on those standards, honest builders benefit and the market gets a far clearer view of where blockchain adoption actually stands."
Why It Matters
Active-address counts influence token valuations, exchange listings, media rankings, ecosystem grant allocations and investor due diligence. When the metric can be manufactured at near-zero cost, these decisions rest on distorted information. The report argues that a shift toward Sybil-filtered, retention-based and revenue-based measurement would reprice networks on fundamentals and reduce the commercial incentive to tolerate artificial activity.
About the research
The report was prepared by the Venom Foundation research team. It combines a review of publicly available sources, including a16z crypto's State of Crypto 2024 and 2025 reports, Nansen's Linea Sybil-detection analysis, Coin Metrics methodology documentation, Artemis Sybil-detection research, disclosures by LayerZero Labs and Chaos Labs, and academic studies on Sybil detection and wash trading, with an original framework built for assessing metric robustness and structural address inflation across networks. All figures are sourced and linked in the full report. Where precise measurement is impossible, figures are labeled as estimates. The full report is available here.
About The Venom Foundation
The Venom Foundation is a fintech company founded in Abu Dhabi, specializing in the development and implementation of high-performance blockchain solutions. Venom's mission is to provide blockchain infrastructure that streamlines financial services and is adaptable and scalable to the needs of massive national and international enterprises.
The Venom Foundation specializes in the creation, deployment, and integration of decentralized applications and services with a focus on security, speed, and regulatory compliance. The Venom network provides throughput capacity of up to 150,000 TPS with minimal fees and 99.99% uptime, supporting an ecosystem of DeFi, NFT, gaming, and enterprise solutions.
Contacts: media@venom.network
For more information about the company and services:
https://venom.foundation
https://t.me/VenomFoundationOfficial
https://x.com/venomfoundation
https://discord.com/invite/venomfoundation
1 month ago
The most well-known cryptocurrency in the world, Bitcoin, has become extremely well-known in recent years. But because of its extensive use and high value, hackers and cybercriminals now find it to be a desirable target. Unfortunately, there has been an increase in Bitcoin theft cases, which puts people and companies at risk of suffering large financial losses. Although recovering lost Bitcoin is a complicated process, [Digital Light Solution] is an expert at it. They start their approach by taking a close look at the circumstances and compiling all relevant data and proof. From then on, their team of professionals tracks down the Bitcoins that have been stolen, finds the offenders, and attempts to get the money back. They do this by using state-of-the-art methods and instruments. [Digital Light Solution] team of professionals has years of experience in the industry and has perfected their technique of Bitcoin recovery. To increase their chances of winning, they combine legal tactics, blockchain research, and digital forensics.[Digital Light Solution] has emerged as a ray of light for people who have been defrauded of Bitcoin through their unwavering pursuit of justice.[Digital Light Solution] boasts a team of brilliant minds who are not only well-versed in the intricacies of Bitcoin and blockchain technology but also possess a deep understanding of cybercrime and the tactics employed by hackers. Their extensive knowledge and experience make them the go-to experts when it comes to recovering stolen Bitcoin. Modern technologies and solutions created especially for the challenging task of Bitcoin recovery are used by [Digital Light Solution] to stay ahead of the curve. Their goal is to provide their clients with justice, and they achieve this by using cutting-edge analytics platforms and specialized tools. Against Bitcoin thieves, if you find yourself in a similar situation, I recommend reaching out to them. Their expertise and dedication can make all the difference in recovering lost funds, and I am living proof of their capabilities.Email:digitallightsolution@qualityservice.com and WhatsApp: +19548568045 [TelegramID digitallightsolution]
1 month ago
Top cryptocurrency recovery expert providing secure assistance for victims of scams META TECH RECOVERY PRO I share my experience to help others avoid online romance “pig butchering” scams. I was deceived by someone I never met. Over months of chats, he involved a “mother” to build trust, emotional dependence, and isolation. They then introduced a trading platform promising high returns through their signals. Persuasive tactics kept me investing while discouraging questions. I deposited about $129,000 in three months, borrowing heavily to “unlock” larger profits—a common escalation where withdrawal always required one more fee. When I tried to withdraw, excuses and new demands appeared, confirming fraud. The “mother” and romance were fabricated. I hired a qualified crypto recovery lawyer and specialized team. They treated it as a cyber-enabled crime, traced transactions, and recovered the stolen funds. I recommend **META TECH RECOVERY PRO** for evidence-based investigation and legal support. If this happens to you, pause immediately, save all chats and records, and seek professional help early from META TECH RECOVERY PRO. Early action improves recovery chances. CONTACT THEM VIA https://metatechrecoverypro.com Telegram:@metatechrecoveryproteam. W/S +1 (469) 692‑8049 Thank you.
1 month ago
Top cryptocurrency recovery expert providing secure assistance for victims of scams META TECH RECOVERY PRO I share my experience to help others avoid online romance “pig butchering” scams. I was deceived by someone I never met. Over months of chats, he involved a “mother” to build trust, emotional dependence, and isolation. They then introduced a trading platform promising high returns through their signals. Persuasive tactics kept me investing while discouraging questions. I deposited about $129,000 in three months, borrowing heavily to “unlock” larger profits—a common escalation where withdrawal always required one more fee. When I tried to withdraw, excuses and new demands appeared, confirming fraud. The “mother” and romance were fabricated. I hired a qualified crypto recovery lawyer and specialized team. They treated it as a cyber-enabled crime, traced transactions, and recovered the stolen funds. I recommend **META TECH RECOVERY PRO** for evidence-based investigation and legal support. If this happens to you, pause immediately, save all chats and records, and seek professional help early from META TECH RECOVERY PRO. Early action improves recovery chances. CONTACT THEM VIA https://metatechrecoverypro.com Telegram:@metatechrecoveryproteam. W/S +1 (469) 692‑8049 Thank you.
1 month ago
HIRE WIZARD GEO COORDINATES RECOVERY HACKER TO RECOVER YOUR LOST / STOLEN CRYPTO / BITCOIN / USDT / ETH I want to quickly tell you all about an Authorized hacker that can help you recover your lost cryptocurrency. WIZARD GEO COORDINATES RECOVERY HACKER. Their goal is to help victims of bitcoin and cryptocurrency scam/fraud recover their digital funds from scammers operating offshore. I recommend them to anyone who has fallen victim to a crypto scam. For more info. You can reach them via Email: Email: geovcoordinateshacker@gmail.com Website; https://geovcoordinateshac.wixsite.com/geo-coordinates-hack Telegram @Geocoordinateshacker Thank you so much WIZARD GEO COORDINATES RECOVERY HACKER for assisting me in recovering my stolen cryptocurrency funds. I was devastated and couldn’t grasp what had happened to me when I was locked out of my account but I’m truly grateful for the service of WIZARD GEO COORDINATES RECOVERY HACKER.
