Ethereum On Fire: User Growth Sparks Massive Activity Spike

[Ben Graham]

Ethereum’s on-chain activity has jumped sharply, driven by a wave of first-time users and heavier transaction flow across the network. According to Glassnode, new activity retention roughly doubled this month — rising from about 4 million to around 8 million addresses — a move that points to a fresh cohort of wallets interacting with Ethereum rather than just repeat users.

Surge In New Users

Daily transactions hit a record high of 2.8 million on Thursday, a figure that is up 125% from the same period last year. Based on reports from Etherscan, active addresses have more than doubled year-over-year, moving from roughly 410,000 accounts to over 1 million as of Jan. 15. Those numbers suggest real, broad-based engagement is increasing, not merely short-lived spikes.

Ethereum’s Month-over-Month Activity Retention shows a sharp spike in the “New” cohort, indicating a surge in first-time interacting addresses over the past 30 days. This reflects a notable influx of new wallets engaging with the Ethereum network, rather than activity being… pic.twitter.com/h8Zw7hXOSX

— glassnode (@glassnode) January 15, 2026

Transaction Boom And L2 Effects

Observers link the transaction growth in part to rising stablecoin activity and lower fees. Reports have disclosed that many transfers are migrating execution to Layer 2 networks while settlement stays on Ethereum’s main chain, which keeps finality secure and helps push down gas costs. Staking has also climbed, reaching nearly 36 million ETH, adding another layer to the network’s tightening supply dynamics.

At the same time, market behavior remains careful. Strength in US equities has helped stabilize crypto prices, yet money flowing into Ethereum looks selective rather than broad.

It seems that positioning is rather conservative; traders prefer waiting for more accurate signals regarding ETH prices instead of attempting to predict a breakout. In turn, ETH is consolidating around a correction, but there is not enough momentum-driven buying.

Analyst Views & Price Movement

There were also those who cited optimism based on improvements to on-chain fundamentals. For instance, LVRG Research reported that the increasing number of transactions and staking activities encouraged a positive network.

Some traders argue the compression in price action could precede a breakout. Ether traded near a two-month high of $3,400 on Wednesday and was around $3,300 in early trading on Friday, reflecting the tug of war between renewed demand and persistent caution.

Despite the stronger metrics, technical hurdles remain. Reports and recent analysis suggest the market is in a repair phase, not a confirmed uptrend.

Overhead supply still constrains sustained advances, and many market participants want to see ETH reclaim key long-term resistance levels, such as the 200-day EMA, before committing large-scale capital.

That explains why short-term traders operate inside a defined range while longer-term players hold back.

What This Means For Traders And Investors

Network health has improved materially — more users, more transactions, and higher staking — but price action has not yet matched those gains.

Based on the data presented, cautious optimism is reasonable. Traders may find chance to trade the range, while investors looking for conviction should wait for cleaner technical confirmation before assuming a sustained rally.

Featured image from Blockzeit/EthBurn, chart from TradingView