ETH Daily Transactions Hit New All-Time High Amid Network Upgrades

TheNewsCryptoPublished on 2026-01-02Last updated on 2026-01-02

Abstract

Ethereum has reached a new all-time high in daily transactions, with the seven-day moving average hitting 1.87 million on December 31, surpassing previous records. The network also saw significant growth in active and new addresses, reaching levels not seen since 2021 and 2018, respectively. According to LVRG Research director Nick Ruck, this surge is largely driven by recent network upgrades like Pectra and Fusaka, which reduced fees, improved scalability, and attracted institutional participation through ETFs and real-world asset tokenization. These upgrades enhanced blob production, wallet usability, and data efficiency. Further updates, Glamsterdam and Hegota, are planned for 2026 to boost performance and sustainability.

The number of daily transactions on Ethereum has positioned it at a new all-time high, as per the data. Adding more to this, a significant surge in the number of new and active addresses has also been witnessed.

On December 31st, the seven-day moving average of transactions on the ETH network surged to 1.87, surpassing the previous high of 1.61 million listed on May 10, 2021, at the time of the NFT and DeFi boom. Also, it has surpassed the latest high of 1.73 million recorded on August 9.

The overall active addresses registered on the network possessed a significant increase, being at 728,904, the highest level since May 12, 2021. On December 31st, ETH also noted 270,160 new addresses, showing the biggest single-day increase since early 2018.

The director of LVRG Research, Nick Ruck, stated that the latest growth has been influenced mainly by network upgrades that have reduced fees, increased scalability and captivated institutional participation through ETFs and real-world asset tokenisation.

The Major Upgrades of ETH

Last year, Ethereum encountered two major network upgrades, Pectra and Fusaka, focusing on improving scalability and efficiency. Pectra boosted blob production, rolled out account abstraction for enhanced wallet usability, and increased validator staking limits.

Fusaka introduced PeerDAS for streamlining data availability sampling to back higher blob counts without surging node strain. The updates, along with surged gas limits and the zkEVM performance breakthrough, have primarily helped in suppressing costs with the advancement of the rollup-centric roadmap of Ethereum.

The network will also be having another round of major updates this year. In early-to-mid 2026, an update to Glamsterdam, focusing on enhancing the overall performance of the network and further decentralising the network, will take place. The community will reportedly witness Hegota in the second half of the year, aiming to enhance the long-term sustainability of the network.

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