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Ethereum network activity has accelerated sharply as new users and transaction counts reached record levels in mid-January, according to multiple on-chain data providers tracking the blockchain’s usage trends. Data from Glassnode shows that month-over-month activity retention among new users almost doubled over the past 30 days, driven by first-time interacting addresses rather than returning participants.
Retention of new activities increased from slightly over four million to approximately eight million addresses during the period of one month, indicating a massive movement of new wallets interacting with Ethereum for the first time.
Simultaneously, daily transactions went up to 2.8 million, which was the highest ever and signified a 125% rise compared to a year ago, according to numbers given out by Etherscan.
Is it possible that this increase of new users and transactions is a sign of a permanent change in the Ethereum network usage?
Glassnode reported the latest spike in activity retention came mainly from a new cohort of users interacting with Ethereum during the past 30 days. The firm explained that activity retention tracks whether users remain active over time, rather than appearing once and leaving the network. Consequently, the latest upturn signifies long-term involvement as opposed to transient surges of activity relating to the current accounts.
According to Etherscan data, the past year’s figures show active Ethereum addresses more than doubled existing ones, from around 410,000 to above 1 million by the 15th of January.
The increase in active accounts occurred simultaneously with a general increase in on-chain participation across cases, payments, trading, and decentralized finance. Collectively, these indicators point out that the network growth is now increasingly dependent on new users instead of the recycled activities of old ones.
Simultaneously, Ethereum reached a new milestone with the processing of 2.8 million transactions per day on Thursday, a 125% rise from the same period last year. It indicates that the network is being more heavily used by applications and services.
Milk Road analysts pointed out that lower transaction fees were one of the main reasons for the increase, as they promoted stablecoin transfers and everyday on-chain activities. As per the latest fee data, token swaps on Ethereum cost around $0.04 on average, and cross-chain transfers are about $0.01.
A DeFi lending transaction costs roughly $0.03, making frequent activity more accessible for smaller users. Milk Road analysts said the trend reflects execution shifting to layer-two networks while Ethereum’s base layer continues to handle final settlement securely.
In addition to the number of transactions, Ethereum's staking balance rose to 36 million ETH, stirring up more on-chain activity. The on-chain data reveals more than 2.5 million daily transactions as a constant and an increase in staked ETH.
Justin d’Anethan, head of research at Arctic Digital, told Cointelegraph that short-term indicators recently exited oversold territory and pointed toward upside potential. Nick Ruck, director of LVRG Research, also observed that higher network activity and staking coincided with sustained ETF inflows and recent scaling upgrades.
Meanwhile, MN Fund founder Michaël van de Poppe said ETH showed signs of compression as liquidity tightened amid strong on-chain metrics and institutional demand.
Also Read: Ethereum Staking Hits Record as ETH Trades Near $3,350 Price Zone
Ethereum network activity surged as new wallets doubled activity retention and active addresses passed one million. Daily transactions hit $2.8 million, while fees stayed low and staking reached 36 million ETH. These metrics point to sustained usage growth driven by new participants and scalable infrastructure.
