Sources & Methodology
This page is the reference behind every number we publish. If a figure appears on the site and is not defined here, that is a bug — please tell us.
1. The nine-chain baseline
We track GameFi activity and cost on nine chains. Activity figures are modelled from a contract label set we maintain; cost figures are measured from public fee schedules.
Baseline shown for the week of September 7–13, 2026; the table is refreshed every Monday.
| Chain | GameFi DAU | Daily game tx | Share of DAU | Avg cost/tx | 50 tx/day × 30 days |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ronin | 298,400 | 1,198,200 | 29.3% | $0.0000 | $0.00 |
| Solana | 194,600 | 938,400 | 19.1% | $0.00023 | $0.35 |
| Immutable | 142,100 | 487,600 | 13.9% | $0.0000 | $0.00 |
| TRON | 109,800 | 216,300 | 10.8% | $0.7388 | $1,108.14 |
| BNB Chain | 98,400 | 336,700 | 9.6% | $0.0936 | $140.40 |
| Polygon | 70,600 | 231,800 | 6.9% | $0.0204 | $30.60 |
| Arbitrum | 40,200 | 122,400 | 3.9% | $0.0792 | $118.80 |
| Base | 39,100 | 107,300 | 3.8% | $0.0406 | $60.90 |
| Ethereum | 26,600 | 57,100 | 2.6% | $2.9150 | $4,372.50 |
| Total | 1,019,800 | 3,695,800 | 100% | weighted $0.1019 | — |
FormulaWeighted average cost = Σ(chain cost × chain transactions) ÷ total transactions = $0.1019.Note — No public dashboard (DappRadar, chain explorers) publishes a standardised, comparable GameFi category across chains. Our modelled figures are an order of magnitude from our own label set, not a census. Measured cost figures are from documented fee schedules and are exact at snapshot time.
2. Metric definitions
| Metric | Definition | Unit | Type | Update |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GameFi DAU | Distinct addresses interacting with labelled game contracts in a day | addresses | Modelled | Weekly |
| Daily game transactions | Transactions against labelled game contracts | transactions | Modelled | Weekly |
| Share of DAU | Chain GameFi DAU ÷ nine-chain total | % | derived | Weekly |
| Avg cost/tx | Standard in-game action cost on that chain (transfer / claim / listing) | USD | Measured | Weekly |
| Monthly bill | Avg cost/tx × assumed tx/day × 30 | USD | derived | Weekly |
| WoW change | This week vs prior week, same model | % | derived | Weekly |
| Weighted avg cost | Transaction-volume-weighted mean of chain costs | USD | derived | Weekly |
3. Player personas (fixed cadence assumptions)
| Persona | Tx/day | Rationale |
|---|---|---|
| Casual | 3 | A daily quest and a trade |
| Regular | 15 | Dailies, crafting, a few market actions |
| Grinder | 50 | Farming loop, marketplace flips |
| Studio | 500 | Multi-account operation on one or more chains |
FormulaMonthly bill = cost per transaction × transactions per day × 30.
4. TRON cost model
TRON is one of the nine chains, with a resource model unlike the others:
| Parameter | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Standard USDT TRC-20 transfer | 64,285 energy | TRON network parameters |
| Transfer to fresh address | 130,285 energy (2.03× premium) | TRON network parameters |
| Burn fallback rate | 0.0001 TRX per energy (100 sun) | TRON network parameters (Proposal #104, effective Aug 29, 2025) |
| TRX price reference | $0.338 | Official latest quote $0.3376 (CoinGecko, 2026-09-15), carried at $0.338 for the cost model; every issue states the range it modelled against. |
| Energy rental bands (low/mid/high) | 22 / 34 / 74 SUN per energy | Public aggregators, sampled during the window |
| Mid-market transfer cost | $0.7388 | derived |
| Burn fallback cost | $2.1728 (6.43 TRX) | derived |
| Rental savings vs burn | 66.0% | derived |
| Staking efficiency / break-even | 9.59 energy/TRX/day; staking break-even ≈ 12 SUN | derived, 4.09% APY, 14-day unlock |
| GasFree ceiling | $1.00 per stablecoin transfer (no contract calls) | JustLend DAO |
FormulaBurn cost (USD) = energy × 0.0001 TRX × TRX price.FormulaRental cost (USD) = energy × (SUN ÷ 1,000,000) TRX × TRX price.
5. Source tiers
| Tier | Sources |
|---|---|
| Tier 1 — Primary | Chain-native explorers (Etherscan, BscScan, Polygonscan, Ronin explorer, Solana FM, Arbiscan, Basescan, TRONSCAN, Immutable explorer); protocol documentation; official network parameters; game project official channels |
| Tier 2 — Data platforms | DappRadar, DefiLlama, CoinGecko, CoinMarketCap, NFT marketplaces |
| Tier 3 — Industry media (cross-check only) | CoinDesk, The Block, Cointelegraph, Decrypt, DL News |
| Tier 4 — Security firms | SlowMist, CertiK, PeckShield, ExVul, T3 FCU |
Each important claim requires two independent sources or one primary/on-chain source. We do not use anonymous tips, unsourced screenshots, or single-outlet major claims.
6. Modelling disclosure
- Label set. We maintain a set of contract addresses classified as "game" contracts (game logic, in-game economies, game marketplaces) across the nine chains. GameFi DAU and transactions are computed against this set. Labels are reviewed monthly.
- No game-level numbers without a name. We do not publish per-game figures for games we cannot verify; chain-level aggregates only.
- Cadence assumptions. Persona bills use the fixed cadences in §3. They are assumptions by design, so results are reproducible and comparable across chains and weeks.
- Snapshot timing. Cost figures are sampled Wednesday of each coverage week; activity aggregates cover Monday 00:00 – Sunday 23:59 (UTC+8).
7. How to challenge a number
Email the desk (see Contact) with the figure, the article, and your source. We answer corrections before any other mail, publish a correction notice on the affected article, and log the change in the article's "Last reviewed" date.