SKN | Ethereum Activity Doubles as New Users Flood the Network, Glassnode Data Shows

Key Points

• Ethereum’s new-user activity has nearly doubled month-over-month, signaling genuine network adoption rather than recycled wallet activity, according to Glassnode data.

• Active addresses and daily transactions have surged to multi-year highs, supported by lower transaction fees and increased usage of layer-2 scaling solutions and stablecoins.

• Improving on-chain fundamentals and renewed institutional inflows are strengthening market sentiment, even as Ethereum’s price consolidates near recent highs.

Ethereum’s on-chain activity is accelerating sharply, driven by a surge in first-time users rather than recycled participation from existing wallets, according to new data from Glassnode. The trend signals a meaningful expansion in Ethereum’s user base at a time when transaction costs are falling and institutional interest is rebuilding.

Glassnode reported that Ethereum’s month-over-month “activity retention” for new users has nearly doubled over the past 30 days. The metric tracks how many newly created addresses remain active after their initial interaction, offering insight into whether growth reflects genuine adoption or short-lived speculation. In this case, Glassnode said the data points to a “notable influx of new wallets engaging with the network,” rather than a spike driven by long-time participants cycling activity.

New activity retention has jumped from just over 4 million addresses to around 8 million in a single month, one of the strongest expansions in Ethereum’s user cohort in recent years. The sharp increase suggests Ethereum is attracting fresh demand at the base layer, even as much of its execution activity continues to migrate toward scaling solutions.

Transactions and addresses hit multi-year highs

Network usage metrics reinforce that picture. Data from Etherscan shows that active Ethereum addresses have more than doubled year-over-year, rising from roughly 410,000 at this time last year to over 1 million on Jan. 15. Daily transaction counts have climbed even faster, reaching a record 2.8 million transactions on Thursday, up about 125% from a year earlier.

The increase in throughput comes despite — and partly because of — declining transaction fees on Ethereum’s mainnet. Analysts attribute the trend to Ethereum’s scaling strategy, which pushes execution-heavy activity to layer-2 networks while retaining final settlement on layer 1. This architecture has lowered costs for users while preserving security, encouraging higher transaction volumes across the ecosystem.

Macroeconomics outlet Milk Road said the surge was driven largely by exploding stablecoin usage, calling it evidence that Ethereum’s scaling roadmap is working as intended. Lower fees and faster execution have made Ethereum more attractive for payments, transfers and decentralized finance activity that had previously been constrained by cost.

Improving sentiment around Ethereum

The pickup in on-chain activity is coinciding with a shift in market sentiment. Justin d’Anethan, head of research at Arctic Digital, said indicators that were previously pushed into oversold territory have turned higher, supported by renewed capital inflows into ETFs, stablecoins and Ethereum-native protocols.

Nick Ruck, director of LVRG Research, pointed to additional structural support, noting that staking has climbed to nearly 36 million ETH while daily transactions remain above 2 million. He said the combination of strong on-chain fundamentals, sustained ETF inflows and recent scaling upgrades has improved Ethereum’s medium-term setup as liquidity tightens and institutional participation grows.

Market participants also note that Ethereum’s price action has begun to reflect this shift. Ether recently touched a two-month high near $3,400 before easing back toward the $3,300 level. Traders describe the current phase as one of compression, where rising network usage and improving sentiment are building pressure beneath the surface.

Adoption momentum meets market reality

While short-term price movements remain sensitive to broader macro conditions, the underlying data suggests Ethereum’s network health is strengthening. A doubling in new-user activity, record transaction counts and falling fees point to a blockchain that is being used more, not just traded.

If retention among new users holds and stablecoin-driven activity continues to scale, Ethereum’s recent burst of on-chain growth could mark a more durable phase of adoption rather than a temporary spike — a development that investors and developers alike will be watching closely in the weeks ahead.