TL;DR

• Ethereum’s seven-day average transaction count is approaching 2.5 million, the highest level ever recorded and nearly double year-over-year.
• Average gas fees have dropped to around $0.15, with some swaps costing as little as $0.04.
• Stablecoin transfers now make up roughly 35%–40% of all Ethereum activity.
• The Fusaka upgrade, expanded blob capacity, and a higher gas limit are reshaping how Ethereum handles scale and cost.

Ethereum is processing more transactions than at any point in its history, and for once, users are not paying a premium for the privilege. Daily activity on the network has surged to record levels just as gas fees have collapsed to their lowest point in recent memory, a pairing that would have seemed unlikely during past periods of heavy usage.

Data from The Block shows Ethereum’s seven-day moving average of transactions nearing 2.5 million, a new all-time high and almost twice the level seen a year ago. The rise marks a clear break from the slower trend that dominated much of 2025, when activity gradually cooled after earlier peaks. Since mid-December, however, transaction counts have climbed sharply, suggesting renewed demand for blockspace across the ecosystem.

At the same time, the cost to use Ethereum has fallen dramatically. Average gas fees now sit around $0.15 per transaction, according to The Block, while Etherscan data shows some common actions, such as token swaps, averaging closer to $0.04. For a network long criticized for pricing out smaller users during busy periods, the shift is significant.

High usage without high fees 

The combination of record activity and rock-bottom fees represents a turning point for Ethereum’s long-running scaling debate. Historically, spikes in usage almost always came with congestion and volatile gas prices. This time, the network is absorbing more transactions while charging users less than ever.

A large part of the explanation lies in where that activity is coming from. Stablecoins now account for an estimated 35% to 40% of all Ethereum transactions, according to Standard Chartered. Transfers of USDC, USDT, and other dollar-backed tokens tend to be simple and predictable, placing less strain on execution compared with complex DeFi trades or NFT mints.

That shift in usage has coincided with a broader migration of intensive activity away from Ethereum’s main chain and toward Layer 2 networks. Rollups handle a growing share of trading, gaming, and application logic, while the mainnet increasingly acts as a settlement and coordination layer. The result is higher overall throughput without the same pressure on blockspace that once drove fees upward.

The numbers highlight how much Ethereum’s role has evolved. Instead of competing with itself for limited capacity, the network is now supported by an expanding set of secondary layers that absorb demand before it reaches the base chain.

Fusaka, blobs, and a higher gas ceiling

Recent protocol upgrades have played a central role in making this balance possible. Ethereum’s Fusaka hard fork went live seven weeks ago, introducing PeerDAS, or Peer Data Availability Sampling, and formalizing the network’s move to a twice-yearly upgrade cadence. While the changes were largely technical, their impact on costs has been tangible.

In early January, the final Blob Parameters Only fork pushed Ethereum’s blob target to 14 and the maximum cap to 21. Blobs are a specialized data format designed for rollups, allowing them to post transaction data to Ethereum more efficiently. By expanding blob capacity, the network sharply reduced data costs for Layer 2s, which in turn lowered fees passed on to users.

Mainnet fees have also benefited from changes elsewhere. In late November, Ethereum’s block gas limit increased from 45 million to 60 million, a 100% rise compared with the start of 2025. The higher limit allows more computation per block, easing congestion during busy periods. Because so much execution has already moved to Layer 2 networks, the increase did not trigger the same fee spikes that earlier gas limit expansions once caused.

Together, these adjustments have reshaped how Ethereum handles demand. More transactions are being processed, but they are spread across layers and supported by infrastructure designed specifically for scale.

What this means for Ethereum’s next phase

The current environment offers a glimpse of what Ethereum’s supporters have argued for years: a network that can grow without sacrificing accessibility. Lower fees make it easier for smaller users to interact with applications, while stablecoin-heavy activity underscores Ethereum’s role as a financial settlement layer rather than just a playground for speculative trades.

There are still open questions. Persistently low gas fees reduce the amount of ETH burned through transaction costs, which has implications for supply dynamics. Validators also earn less from fees when usage is cheap, increasing reliance on issuance and Layer 2-related activity for rewards. These trade-offs will likely remain a topic of debate as Ethereum continues to refine its economic model.

For now, though, the data tells a clear story. Ethereum is handling more activity than ever before, and it is doing so quietly, cheaply, and without the congestion that once defined its busiest days. If this pattern holds, it strengthens the case that the network’s long transition toward a layered architecture is beginning to pay off in visible, user-facing ways.

READ MORE: Why Ethereum Projects Might Migrate to COTI’s Privacy Layer in 2030