Ethereum's network fundamentals are exhibiting remarkable strength, reaching multi-year highs in user activity and adoption even as its price remains significantly below recent peaks. According to data from Santiment, the 30-day average of daily active addresses on the Ethereum network stands at 837,200 as of early March 2026. This figure represents an 82% increase from five years ago and a staggering 1,135% surge from a decade prior.
Simultaneously, new wallet creation is running at 284,800 per day, a rate 64% higher than five years ago. Sustained over a 30-day period, this translates to approximately 8.5 million new Ethereum wallets created in February 2026 alone, signaling robust new user onboarding.
This surge in network activity presents a stark contrast to Ethereum's price action. ETH is currently trading near $2,090, which is down roughly 58% from its cycle high above $4,900 in November 2025. This divergence highlights a market where network usage metrics are at historically elevated levels while price-based metrics indicate a significant correction.
Compounding this bullish on-chain narrative is a continued exodus of ETH from centralized exchanges. Data indicates the supply of Ethereum on crypto exchanges has plummeted to a multi-year low, with just over 16 million ETH remaining on trading platforms—down from about 23 million ETH in 2023. Analysts like Leon Waidmann, head of research at Lisk, interpret this as holders deliberately moving ETH off exchanges into staking contracts, cold storage, and DeFi protocols, reducing immediate sell pressure and potentially setting the stage for a supply shock.
Further supporting the network's health, Ethereum's mainnet is experiencing unprecedented activity. Daily transactions have surged to nearly 3 million, a figure that surpasses levels seen during the 2021 bull run. This demand is fueled by increased DeFi activity, stablecoin transfers, NFT interactions, and emerging sectors like AI and real-world asset (RWA) protocols.
The confluence of these three datasets—record-high active addresses and new users, rapidly declining exchange reserves, and all-time high transaction counts—paints a picture of a network with strengthening fundamentals during a price downturn. Whether this divergence represents a buying opportunity or a structural shift in how network activity translates to value remains an open question for the market.
