Ethereum network activity, staking volume hit new records as price diverges from utility

Ethereum activity based on daily transfers spiked to a new all-time peak, breaking through levels last seen in February. The network carried over 1.3M transactions, showing demand for stablecoin usage and tokenization. 

Ethereum is showing another bullish sign, with an average daily transaction count of 1.3M, based on Cryptoquant data. The network shows peak usage for ETH transfers and USDT payments, as well as several leading smart contracts based on their daily gas burn rate. 

The on-chain signal shows Ethereum retains fundamental strength and utility. At the same time, ETH remains stable above $2,200, keeping DeFi liquidations low. On-chain activity also pointed to increased smart contract and DeFi activity, L2 blob usage, and other transfers. 

According to Gate data, ETH trades with extreme fear sentiment, though the market is also looking for bullish signs and on-chain markers. The current mix of high-level on-chain activity, wide adoption and low ETH prices is unprecedented and shows a divergence between blockchain usage and token valuations. 

Ethereum gets a boost from smart contract activity

Ethereum got a boost in activity even after the end of trends like NFTs and on-chain games. However, the on-chain traffic does not immediately translate into peak price action. The recent spike in activity and demand for ETH also reveals a potential breakout, signaling ETH as an undervalued asset. 

The unprecedented traffic also happens at a time of extremely low gas fees. Regular transactions cost under $0.01, while DEX swaps and lending transactions are at $0.11. The overall traffic on Ethereum is at a higher baseline, and the recent spikes in activity are not due to highly competitive events. 

Not all Ethereum transactions are organic, as some contracts have been found to originate from malicious address seeding, making use of the record-low fees. 

Despite the increased usage, Ethereum is not deflationary, and still produces over 19K coins weekly. Network inflation is at 0.83% annualized, slightly higher than previous zero-growth or deflationary periods. 

Ethereum staking rises to a new peak

The share of staked ETH also increased to a new peak. While the Ethereum network carried peak traffic, there was some skepticism about the utility of ETH. 

Currently, the most significant utility is in securing the network and serving as a DeFi asset in its wrapped form. 

As of April 2026, ETH staking still has 2.9% annualized reward rate. A total of 31.2% of the ETH supply is staked. In the past days, more notable entities sent their treasuries for staking. 

Notable stakers include Bitmine, the Ethereum Foundation, as well as Grayscale and Gate. Some of the staking services offer higher APYs compared to direct deposits to the Beacon Chain contract. 

Over 2.9M ETH are still waiting in the validator queue, with an average waiting period of 51 days.

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