The Ethereum network activity has recorded an unprecedented growth during the last month, reaching eight million active addresses. According to the recent report from Glassnode, user retention has almost doubled in scale compared to the previous period recorded. This phenomenon is not a coincidence, as it responds to a massive influx of wallets interacting for the first time with the ecosystem. The daily transaction volume set a record of 2.8 million, reflecting a 125% year-over-year increase.
Likewise, the project’s infrastructure has demonstrated its ability to scale in an efficient and secure way. The expansion of layer 2 scaling solutions has allowed for shifting data execution without compromising the main layer’s security. Therefore, stablecoin usage has exploded in a notable way in this environment of minimal fees and high speed. In this way, the network consolidates as a robust financial infrastructure that attracts both retail and high-level financial institutions.
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.
— glassnode (@glassnode) January 15, 2026
This reflects a notable influx of new wallets engaging with the Ethereum network, rather than activity being… pic.twitter.com/h8Zw7hXOSX
On the other hand, data from Etherscan confirms that active accounts exceeded one million on January 15th. The number of validators and staked ETH have reached the impressive figure of 36 million ETH locked currently. This dynamic strengthens the protocol’s security while reducing the circulating supply available in the open market today. For this reason, investor sentiment has turned increasingly optimistic following the substantial improvement of the asset’s technical and economic fundamentals.
Where is the asset’s value heading after this massive increase in active users?
Nonetheless, the asset’s price is in a phase of strategic consolidation below key resistance levels. Ether reached a two-month high recently by touching 3,400 dollars, although it retreated slightly towards the 3,300 dollar zone. Despite the volatility, capital flows into Ethereum ETFs have maintained a constant pace of net inflow. This injection of institutional liquidity suggests that the market is accumulating positions before a possible bullish movement of great magnitude.
In this sense, market analysts point out that technical indicators have left the oversold zones. The price compression in recent days could anticipate a definitive breakout towards higher levels in the coming week. Furthermore, the adoption of native protocols and finance solutions continues to grow at a fast pace among the new cohort of global users. In this way, the ecosystem prepares to capitalize on the highest activity retention recorded in its entire history.
Will Ethereum be able to maintain this growth rate without facing congestion issues?
It is also important to highlight that recent upgrades have significantly optimized the cost of operations. Users now enjoy gas fees that are extremely low thanks to the smart migration towards scalable secondary networks. So, the ecosystem becomes increasingly more accessible for a user base that was previously excluded by high costs. Likewise, the integration of payment services and stablecoins reinforces the practical utility of the blockchain in the daily real economy.
However, investors must remain attentive to the evolution of international regulations during the next quarter. The combination of solid internal fundamentals and external demand positions the asset for superior performance in global markets. The future outlook for the ecosystem remains positive while liquidity tightens due to the growing interest of institutional participants. The network is not only growing in size but is also building a loyal user base that ensures its long-term relevance.
