Stablecoin transfer activity on Ethereum hit a record $8 trillion in Q4 2024, signaling that new users are engaging in real-world finance beyond speculation, supported by rising active addresses and non-zero balance wallets.

Ethereum wallet creation surged to a historic daily average of about 327,000 new addresses in early 2025, driven by the Pusaka upgrade finalized in December 2024 that sharply reduced transaction costs.

The Pusaka upgrade enhanced gas fees, data storage efficiency, and introduced features like Variable Block Size, State Expiry, and Fee Delegation Standards, enabling cheaper, more scalable onboarding for dApps.

In Q1 2025, Ethereum led major blockchains in daily new addresses, with roughly 327,000 versus about 210,000 for BNB Smart Chain, 190,000 for Solana, and 95,000 for Polygon PoS, highlighting utility-driven growth.

Ethereum is evolving into a global payment infrastructure, as financial institutions adopt Ethereum-based stablecoin rails for cross-border settlements thanks to speed, transparency, and lower costs.

This record growth marks a turning point for Ethereum’s role in the blockchain ecosystem, positioning the network as foundational infrastructure for the next generation of internet-enabled economies.

Experts emphasize the quality of growth, noting that lower fees and practical use cases such as remittances, DeFi yields, and gaming point to sustainable, non-speculative adoption.