Active Address

Active addresses are the standard usage proxy for a network, and their weakness is in the word address. One person can control thousands of addresses, and one address, such as an exchange hot wallet, can act for millions of people, so the count sits at neither the user nor the account level. Definitions vary between providers over whether receivers count, whether contract addresses are included, and whether dust and spam transactions are filtered out. On networks with very low fees, automated transactions and reward-seeking activity can lift the count substantially. Comparisons across chains are the least reliable use of the metric, since fee levels and wallet conventions differ.

На практике

A campaign that pays users for transacting can raise active addresses sharply while the number of distinct people involved changes far less.

Распространённое заблуждение

Active addresses are not active users: addresses cost nothing to create, and both farming and shared exchange wallets break the assumption of one address per person.