I accompanied my fren for a late-night snack, and he was eating skewers while complaining:

"Being on the chain now feels like squeezing into the subway during rush hour—crowded, slow, and sometimes it just gets stuck. The most ridiculous part is that I just wanted to play a little game and casually swap some coins, but instead, my wallet is full of operations that feel like processing paperwork: it takes forever, and the fees aren't cheap either."
I wanted to laugh at him for being pretentious, but then he took out his phone and showed me:
"Playing on the chain" is similar; some chains are like old apartment building elevators - they work, but don't expect comfort; some chains are like escalators in new shopping malls - they can still run even when crowded.

"Is the @SeiNetwork (赛链) you talk about every day that kind of new mall? I only care about the results: Are there more and more people? Are the transactions getting hotter? Don't talk concepts with me."
Alright, let's use data to speak human language.

Ordinary people going on-chain, the real pain points can be summarized in three sentences:
1) When there are too many people, it gets stuck: You want to play games, exchange coins, or do some financial management, but it ends up taking too long like waiting in line for a number.
2) High popularity does not equal usefulness: Some chains are loud, but when you take a look, there are not many products that can be used long-term.
3) "I'm afraid to take over": Without clarifying the fluctuations in TVL, unlocking selling pressure, and the inflow and outflow of stablecoins, users will be reluctant to keep their money in for long.

Project Answer:
@SeiNetwork's answer is very straightforward now: I'm not going to beat around the bush, I'm going to deliver the "usage".
Q3 2025: Network activity has increased for the 5th consecutive quarter.
Daily Active Addresses DAA: Month-on-Month +93.5% to 824,000
Average daily transaction volume of active addresses: Month-on-month +87.1% to 2 million transactions
TVL in USD has decreased, but the daily average trading volume of DEX spot has instead reached a record high: up to 43 million USD, a month-on-month increase of +75%.
"Money" may hesitate in the short term, but "people" and "transactions" are increasing.

Three-point breakdown:
1) Who brought the growth? - Game
Sei Q3 game transaction volume is 116 million, up by 137.8% month-on-month.
Types like Sugar Senpai and Hot Spring, which are more geared towards "ordinary people might also click to play," directly boost on-chain activity.
It's not about shouting orders to attract people, but about keeping them engaged by being 'playable'.
2) DeFi does not rely on a single trick - the leaders are fighting.
Yei is still large, but Q3 TVL (in USD) decreased by -41.7% month-on-month.
Takara Lend has instead taken off with its points program, with TVL increasing by 48.4% to $105.8 million.
This indicates one thing: the ecosystem is no longer dominated by a single player, and it has begun to enter a stage of "competing for users". This is actually a good thing for users—subsidies, experiences, and products will become more competitive.
3) The liquidity staking has changed hands - Splashing Stake takes over the stage.
After the launch of spSEI, the liquidity staking share was pulled to 59.9%, and Silo dropped to 40.1%.
The key point is not "who wins," but rather: users care more about "can it be redeemed quickly, can it be used immediately"; whoever provides a smooth experience will capture the market.

Underlying support:
Don't worry about what terminology it uses, the underlying support just looks at four "hard things":
1) More wallet entries: Backpack and MetaMask have both made Sei one of their recommended networks.
2) Basic tools are more complete: Browsers similar to Etherscan are now supported, making it easier to check on-chain information.
3) More stable data/feed price: Low latency data support combined with a native feed pricing mechanism allows high-frequency strategies to operate.
4) Giga is on the way: The goal is to continue to raise the throughput and confirmation speed (the official has provided high-performance indicators from internal testing).

Application scenarios:
Consider Sei as a "high-traffic mall"; the most useful layers inside right now are:
1) Game Area: Drive trading volume, drive activity, and keep newcomers engaged.
2) Spot Trading Area (DEX): DragonSwap, Sailor and similar ones, Q3 transactions are evidently hotter.
3) Lending Zone: Yei / Takara two strong contenders face off, giving users more choices.
4) Stablecoin Channel: After USDC's native minting/burning is compatible with cross-chain transfers, it feels more like "entering through the main door".
5) Order Book Play (CLOB): Oxium will start to gain volume, paving the way for a "more professional trading experience."

Cost details:
Let's not talk about anything abstract and get straight to what you care about the most, the "cost":
1) On-chain operation costs: When you play games, swap coins, or lend, the core costs are transaction fees + trial and error time. Sei's direction is to make you wait less, experience fewer blocks, and fail less.
2) Staking Yield and Inflation: The annualized inflation for Q3 is about 4.4%, and the annualized staking yield is about 6.0%. This means that stakers have received positive "real returns" for the second consecutive quarter (approximately +1.6% in this magnitude).
3) The unlocking pressure is decreasing but not gone: the monthly unlocking has decreased from 219.7 million SEI to 113 million SEI, which is a significant easing; however, investor/team unlocking is still ongoing, and the overall unlocking will extend to 2033.
4) The decline in TVL must be acknowledged: Q3 TVL has decreased in USD terms, but DEX trading has reached a new high, indicating that "money is selective," but "users have not left."
Action Guide

I suggest everyone follow this order to make things easier and avoid detours:
1) Start with the easiest: add Sei to your wallet (don't jump into complicated operations right away).
2) First, check out the hottest trading spots: take a look at the spot depth and experience of DragonSwap / Sailor. Don't just listen to others brag, try clicking a couple of times yourself to see if it goes smoothly.
3) If you want to take profits, you should unstake, but don't go all in: first try a small amount to complete the "stake - redeem - use again" process, focusing on whether you can accept it.
4) Only engage in lending that you understand: Look at those with scale like Yei and Takara, and consider the activities and incentives; don't be misled by "high yield screenshots."
5) Focus on two time points:
Unlock the rhythm (Don't get emotional before and after the big unlock)
Changes in stablecoin supply (fund inflows and outflows directly affect lending and liquidity)

A truly effective public chain is not determined by how high the TVL is at any given moment, but rather by how many people are still using it on-chain every day after the market cools down.