Ethereum Network Activity Surges as Transaction Fees Fall to 17 Cents

The Ethereum mainnet clocked 2.2 million transactions in a single day in a new record this week, while fees have fallen to just 17 cents on average.

The layer-1 blockchain recorded its new transaction milestone on Tuesday, according to block explorer Etherscan. Transaction fees have also dropped considerably over time. 

The highest transaction fees on Ethereum were recorded in May 2022, when users had to spend over $200 per transaction.

However, continued upgrades have dropped fees considerably, despite continued growth of the network’s usage.  

Fees have also been on the decline since Oct.10, when they were around $8.48, during the significant liquidation event that saw the entire market bleed.

Higher Ethereum fees have historically pushed users to cheaper alternatives such as layer 2s, but the growing transactions on the mainnet indicate a return to the layer 1 blockchain and rising usage among crypto users.

Meanwhile, developers are increasingly choosing Ethereum as a settlement layer, with data from Token Terminal showing the number of new smart contracts created and published on the Ethereum blockchain reached a high of 8.7 million in the fourth quarter.

Two major upgrades for Ethereum in 2025

The Ethereum blockchain underwent significant changes in 2025, with two upgrades that likely contributed to the spike in transactions and drop in fees.

Related: BitMine bags $98M in ETH as year-end selling caps gains: Tom Lee

Pectra in May focused on validator improvements, staking flexibility and preparing Ethereum for future scalability features.

Fusaka increased the gas limit from 45 million to 60 million and was also designed to significantly boost scalability, data handling, and network efficiency. In February, over 50% of Ethereum validators signalled support for raising the network’s gas limit, increasing the maximum amount of gas that can be used for transactions in a single Ethereum block. 

Meanwhile, Ethereum’s staking queue flipped the exit line for the first time in six months on Monday, with almost twice as much Ether (ETH) now lined up to be staked as ETH trying to leave the network.

Unstaking is often seen as a sign that validators are looking to free up Ether for sale, while staking is seen as a sign of confidence to lock it up for long-term holding.

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