Ethereum active addresses surpass 2 million, reaching a new all-time high, but ETH price remains under pressure; capital flow becomes a key variable.

March 11 News: Blockchain data firm CryptoQuant released its latest weekly report, indicating that activity on the Ethereum network recently reached a record high. However, this growth has not driven ETH prices higher nor significantly increased on-chain transaction fee revenue. Data shows that as of February 2026, the number of daily active addresses on Ethereum approached 2 million, surpassing the peak levels seen during the 2021 bull market.

In terms of on-chain usage, Ethereum smart contract calls also hit new records, with an average of over 40 million calls per day. Additionally, token transfers driven by contract interactions have increased significantly, reflecting the ongoing expansion of DeFi protocols, stablecoin payments, and automated financial applications within the network. However, despite the rise in activity, ETH market performance continues to face downward pressure.

Market data shows that ETH has declined by approximately 30% over the past six months, with its one-year market capitalization change turning negative, indicating a net outflow of funds from the market. CryptoQuant’s transaction flow monitoring also found that ETH inflows to exchanges are happening at a faster rate than Bitcoin, a signal often associated with increased selling pressure.

Analysts note that in the current cycle, capital flows are increasingly more indicative of price movements than network activity. During the 2018 and 2021 market phases, on-chain activity growth often coincided with price increases, but the correlation between the two has weakened significantly now. Statistical models show that recent market conditions more frequently feature “high activity but low prices,” suggesting that increased usage demand has not fully translated into higher ETH valuation.

Fee and protocol revenue data also reflect similar trends. Over the past 30 days, Ethereum generated approximately $10.3 million in transaction fees, ranking third among major blockchain networks, behind Tron and Solana. In terms of protocol revenue, Ethereum earned about $1.22 million during the same period, ranking fifth, below Tron, Polygon, Base, and Solana.

This gap is partly due to the rapid development of Ethereum’s Layer 2 ecosystem. Networks like Base and Polygon handle a large volume of transactions and only require low settlement costs on the main chain, dispersing overall economic activity across a broader Ethereum ecosystem.

Nevertheless, stablecoins remain a key pillar of the Ethereum ecosystem. Data shows that the current stablecoin supply on Ethereum is about $162 billion, accounting for roughly 52% of the global stablecoin market. However, on-chain value growth has not fully reflected in ETH prices, indicating a structural disconnect between network usage and native asset valuation. (CoinDesk)