Ethereum recorded a standout first quarter of 2026, with network activity climbing sharply even as fees moved lower. According to the available figures, the blockchain processed 200.4 million transactions during the quarter, a 43% increase from the previous quarter, and average daily transactions rose 34% to around 2 million.
At the same time, fee revenue fell. Ethereum’s fees dropped 34% to $344 million, highlighting a split between rising usage and lower costs on the network. That dynamic suggests Ethereum is handling more demand while becoming cheaper to use, a notable shift for a chain long associated with expensive transactions during busy periods.
Two major trends appear to be driving the change. Stablecoin activity was especially strong, with volumes reaching $8 trillion, while adoption of layer-2 networks continued to expand. Together, those developments point to a broader Ethereum ecosystem where more transfers and applications can grow without pushing costs higher in the same way as before.
The result is a record quarter for Ethereum mainnet and a more complicated picture for ETH holders. Network usage is accelerating, but stronger activity is not automatically translating into higher fee totals. Even so, the latest data shows Ethereum remains a central platform for onchain transactions, stablecoin movement, and scaling through layer-2 infrastructure.
