Ethereum’s network hit unprecedented levels of daily transactions as upgrades and institutional interest drive activity.
Key Takeaways
- Ethereum set a new all time high in daily transactions with network usage surpassing previous peaks from 2021 and 2025.
- Fees have dropped sharply following major upgrades in 2025 making transactions cheaper and more efficient.
- Active and new address counts surged indicating broader participation from retail and institutional users.
- Multiple upgrades scheduled for 2026 aim to improve performance scalability and long term sustainability.
What Happened?
Ethereum ended 2025 with a dramatic uptick in base-layer activity. On December 31, the network processed a record 2.2 million transactions, with a seven-day moving average of 1.87 million. This milestone exceeds the 2021 peak during the NFT and DeFi frenzy and a more recent August 2025 high of 1.73 million.
This record-setting transaction volume was accompanied by strong growth in active and new addresses. Active addresses reached 728,904, the highest since May 2021, while new addresses hit 270,160 on a single day, the largest increase since early 2018.
Ethereum just quietly achieved a massive milestone that signals a fundamental shift in its network adoption.
— Kaizen (@kaizen) January 2, 2026
Daily transactions hit a new all-time high of 1.87 million on December 31, officially surpassing the peaks from the 2021 NFT boom.
Active addresses have also climbed to… pic.twitter.com/bwRVDSOo7Y
What Is Powering Ethereum’s Surge?
The sharp increase in network activity is attributed to a combination of technical upgrades and broader adoption trends:
- Pectra upgrade (May 2025): Improved blob throughput, introduced account abstraction, and raised staking limits, making Ethereum more scalable and wallet-friendly.
- Fusaka upgrade: Activated PeerDAS for efficient data availability sampling, increased gas limits from 45 to 60 million, and improved zkEVM performance.
- Lower Fees: Average fees dropped to just $0.17 per transaction, a dramatic decrease from over $200 during peak congestion in 2022.
Nick Ruck, director at LVRG Research said:
Ethereum has become more appealing to large investors. Institutional interest is rising, not only in direct ETH investments but also through asset tokenization and staking, which are now key drivers of onchain activity.
Investor Confidence and Staking Trends
Confidence in Ethereum’s long-term value is reflected in staking behavior. For the first time in six months, the staking deposit queue surpassed the withdrawal queue, with deposits nearly doubling withdrawals. This shift indicates renewed investor trust in Ethereum’s future.
Despite modest price movement, with ETH trading around $3,044, onchain metrics tell a different story, showing robust engagement and usage across various applications, including stablecoins, RWAs, gaming, and NFTs.
Ethereum’s 2026 Roadmap
Ethereum’s developers are preparing two critical upgrades for 2026:
- Glamsterdam (early-to-mid 2026): Aims to significantly improve network performance and decentralization, targeting throughput levels of up to 3000 TPS by 2027.
- Hegota (late 2026): Will focus on enhancing protocol sustainability and long-term network efficiency.
These upgrades will be tested under real demand pressure, as current transaction volumes stay elevated. Success could help Ethereum maintain its lead amid rising competition from other layer-1 and modular chains.
CoinLaw’s Takeaway
I found Ethereum’s latest performance genuinely impressive. Despite muted price action, the sheer volume of activity shows that the network is thriving under the hood. In my experience, when onchain usage outpaces price, it often signals that smart money is positioning early. The drop in fees and rise in institutional staking are especially promising signs. If these trends continue and Glamsterdam delivers even half of what it promises, Ethereum might be setting the stage for a powerful breakout in 2026.
