The network of the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization has set a new record: 2.2 million transactions processed in a single day. Source: Etherscan. The cost of Ethereum transactions has dropped to historic lows ($0.17) compared to the peak values of 2022 (over $200). Thanks to successive blockchain updates, transaction fees continue to decrease. The transition to the Proof-of-Stake model and the introduction of the fee-burning mechanism under EIP-1559 played a key role. The reduction in transaction fees was also aided by Pectra and Fusaka, deployed in 2025. The first upgrade optimized validator infrastructure and increased staking flexibility, while the second increased the network’s base throughput by 33%, raising the gas limit from 45 to 60 million per block. Technical efficiency has attracted investors: analysts at Artemis named Ethereum the leader of the year in net fund inflows, with a figure of $4.2 billion.
Developer Popularity
In the fourth quarter, the number of new smart contracts on Ethereum reached a historic high of 8.7 million, according to Token Terminal.
Analysts linked the growth to the organic development of three areas: RWA, stablecoin activity, and improvements in basic infrastructure.
“Ethereum is quietly becoming a global settlement layer,” experts emphasized.
The network of the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization maintains its lead in the tokenization segment. It accounts for $12 billion out of the total sector value of $19 billion. Source: RWA.xyz. Ethereum also ranks first in the stablecoin market. According to DeFi Llama, the ecosystem’s share in the total volume of circulating stablecoins exceeds $167 billion.
