The Ethereum mainnet recorded a historic milestone of 2.2 million daily transactions this week, while Ethereum transaction fees dropped to only 17 cents on average. According to official data provided by the block explorer Etherscan, this breakthrough represents the highest operational efficiency of the network to date.
This new operational record contrasts sharply with the levels recorded in May 2022. At that time, users had to pay over 200 dollars per processed operation. Likewise, the massive adoption of new protocol upgrades has allowed for a significant reduction in costs this year. Therefore, the digital financial ecosystem experiences a transformation that is both deep and accessible.
Furthermore, the volume of activity has shown a growing trend since last October. Although prices fluctuated during liquidation events, mainnet usage remains constant and stable at the present moment. In this way, developers are choosing layer one again to carry out their final settlements. A notable increase in smart contract creation was also observed lately.
Direct impact of Pectra and Fusaka upgrades on network scalability and growth
During the course of 2025, the network implemented fundamental technical improvements. The Pectra upgrade, launched in May, optimized the capabilities of the active validators. So the flexibility of the staking system improved notably for all types of users. Nevertheless, the real change arrived with the activation of the Fusaka proposal.
This last improvement allowed the gas limit to rise from 45 to 60 million. Since this adjustment increased data handling capacity, transactions are processed with greater speed today. On the other hand, the efficiency in block data management has reduced historical congestion levels. Therefore, the mainnet recovers its commercial appeal against other alternative scaling solutions.
Will the increased confidence of validators trigger a new bullish market rally?
Staking dynamics have also shown positive signals for all individual investors. Currently, the number of users wishing to deposit their assets exceeds the exiting ones. In this way, the confidence of digital asset holders is strengthening ahead of the year 2026. Hence, the locking of funds suggests a commitment to the long term.
Finally, the deployment of 8.7 million new smart contracts underlines the growth. At the same time, the blockchain is consolidating as the preferred infrastructure for modern financial projects. However, analysts recommend monitoring the next scheduled scalability milestones very closely. So the operational future of the network promises to be highly competitive and efficient.
