Is Ethereum thriving—or merely surviving—?
Behind the headlines, market chatter, and price speculation lies the true pulse of Ethereum: its data.
Whether you’re a developer, investor, or crypto enthusiast, metrics matter. They cut through narratives, expose reality, and tell the story of how a decentralized network is growing—or stalling. In this deep dive, we’ll analyze key indicators that measure Ethereum’s health and momentum across multiple dimensions: usage, decentralization, scalability, security, and ecosystem growth.
Let’s unlock what the numbers really say.
1. Active Users: Gauging Ethereum’s Core Activity
In 2025, Ethereum continues to dominate Layer 1 activity—but how active is its base, really?
- Daily Active Addresses (DAA): Averaging 1.3 million daily in Q2 2025, up 22% year-over-year.
- Monthly Active Wallets: Reached ~12.5 million unique addresses—showing a healthy rotation of users and long-term holders.
- Wallet Growth: Over 275 million unique addresses have now interacted with the Ethereum network.
What It Means: Ethereum remains the go-to Layer 1 for Web3 users, from DeFi to NFTs and gaming. A steady uptick in daily and monthly active users suggests growing adoption—not just speculative activity.
“More wallets, more users, more utility—that’s a winning combination for network value.”
2. Transaction Volume & Throughput: Is Ethereum Keeping Up?
Despite competition from fast chains and Layer 2s, Ethereum still processes a staggering number of transactions:
- Average Daily Transactions (L1): ~1.15 million per day
- Average Gas Price: ~22 gwei, significantly reduced from bull cycle peaks due to Layer 2 adoption
- Total Cumulative Transactions (L1): Over 2.5 billion
Layer 2 scaling solutions have offloaded much of the congestion:
- Arbitrum and Optimism now process more than 2.5x Ethereum’s base layer in combined volume.
- zkSync Era and Starknet continue to grow, albeit at a slower pace.
Key Insight: Ethereum’s role is evolving—from transaction processor to settlement layer. That’s by design.
3. DeFi Metrics: Still the Financial Backbone?
Ethereum remains the DeFi capital, although the competitive pressure has grown.
- Total Value Locked (TVL) on Ethereum: ~$59.8 billion (Q2 2025)
- Ethereum still holds ~55% of global DeFi TVL across all chains
- Top Ethereum DeFi protocols (Aave, Lido, MakerDAO, Uniswap) account for over 60% of the chain’s TVL
Staking, restaking, and liquid staking remain dominant:
- Lido Finance holds over 8 million ETH staked, providing liquid ETH derivatives to the broader ecosystem.
- EigenLayer, a new restaking protocol, has seen explosive growth with $12 billion TVL, creating new trust markets.
What It Means: Ethereum is not losing ground—it’s evolving as the infrastructure for decentralized finance, staking derivatives, and innovative coordination mechanisms.
4. Developer Activity: Who’s Building the Future?
Ethereum isn’t just about users—it’s about builders.
- Monthly Active Developers: Estimated at 5,700+, the highest among all blockchain ecosystems
- Github Commits (Core Protocol): Continues strong post-Dencun upgrade, focused on Verkle trees and sharding preparations
- Ecosystem Developer Tools: Hardhat, Foundry, and Ethers.js see continued adoption growth
Emerging Trends:
- Rise in account abstraction tooling (ERC-4337)
- Strong developer interest in restaking infrastructure
- Surge in Layer 2 tooling and dev kits for rollup-as-a-service platforms
“A healthy network has active builders. Ethereum’s code is not just surviving—it’s innovating.”
5. Network Security & Decentralization
Ethereum’s move to Proof of Stake has opened new security metrics:
- Staked ETH: Over 32 million ETH is now staked (~26.6% of supply)
- Number of Validators: ~1.1 million, showcasing robust participation
- Slashing Events: Rare, with slashing occurring in only 0.01% of validator activity—indicating network stability
Client Diversity (a decentralization indicator):
- Prysm: 36%
- Lighthouse: 29%
- Teku: 18%
- Nimbus: 14%
While Prysm still leads, client diversity is improving—crucial for censorship resistance.
MEV (Miner Extractable Value): Remains a concern, especially on Layer 2s, but new protocols (e.g., MEV-Boost, PBS) are helping reduce negative impacts.
6. Economic Metrics: ETH as a Digital Asset
Ethereum is not just infrastructure—it’s an economic engine.
ETH Supply Dynamics:
- Post-Merge Net Issuance: Negative. Ethereum has become deflationary in many periods, especially during network spikes.
- ETH Burned (EIP-1559): Over 4.1 million ETH burned since activation.
- Annual Inflation Rate: Now fluctuates between -0.5% to +0.3%, depending on network activity.
Staking Yield:
- Average ~4.2% APY (excluding restaking), making ETH attractive as a yield-bearing asset.
Takeaway: ETH is maturing as a digital commodity—fuel for the network, collateral in DeFi, and a yield-bearing asset post-Merge.
7. NFT, Gaming & Cultural Metrics
While the NFT mania of 2021 has cooled, Ethereum remains the home of blue-chip digital assets:
- Top NFT Collections (CryptoPunks, BAYC, Pudgy Penguins) remain Ethereum-native
- Monthly NFT volume on Ethereum: ~$320 million (May–June 2025)
- NFT migration to Layer 2s (especially Base and Zora) is increasing rapidly
In gaming, titles like Shrapnel, Illuvium, and Otherside continue to build Ethereum-native economies.
“Ethereum isn’t just financial rails—it’s cultural infrastructure.”
Final Thoughts: What the Numbers Say About Ethereum in 2025
Ethereum’s raw numbers reveal a blockchain that is not just alive, but growing in complexity, usage, and economic significance.
- From 1 million daily transactions to 30 million staked ETH
- From gas wars to rollup-centric scalability
- From dev tooling to decentralized finance dominance
Ethereum is no longer just a smart contract platform. It is evolving into a modular, global settlement layer—interconnected with Layer 2s, secured by robust staking, and backed by vibrant developer activity.
The future of Ethereum isn’t just in its price—it’s in its metrics.
So next time someone asks, “Is Ethereum still relevant?”—show them the numbers.
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