The Ethereum mainnet set a new record this week, processing 2.2 million transactions in a single day, with average fees dropping to just 17 cents.
According to block explorer Etherscan, the layer-1 blockchain reached this milestone on Tuesday. Transaction costs have fallen significantly over time.
Ethereum’s highest fees were recorded in May 2022, when users sometimes paid over $200 per transaction.
Ongoing network upgrades have helped reduce fees substantially, even as overall usage continues to grow. Fees have also steadily declined since October 10, when they averaged around $8.48 during a major market-wide liquidation event.
Historically, higher Ethereum fees have driven users toward cheaper alternatives like layer-2 solutions. However, the recent surge in mainnet transactions suggests renewed activity on the layer-1 blockchain and growing adoption among crypto users.
At the same time, developers are increasingly turning to Ethereum as a settlement layer. Data from Token Terminal shows that the number of new smart contracts created and deployed on Ethereum reached a record 8.7 million in the fourth quarter.
Two major Ethereum upgrades in 2025
Ethereum underwent significant upgrades in 2025, which likely contributed to both the transaction spike and lower fees.
- Pectra (May): Focused on improving validators, enhancing staking flexibility, and preparing Ethereum for future scalability features.
- Fusaka: Increased the gas limit from 45 million to 60 million and aimed to boost scalability, data handling, and network efficiency. In February, over 50% of Ethereum validators signaled support for raising the gas limit, increasing the maximum gas available per block.
Meanwhile, Ethereum’s staking queue flipped the exit line for the first time in six months on Monday, with nearly twice as much ETH queued for staking as ETH queued for withdrawal.
Unstaking often signals that validators want to free up Ether for sale, while staking reflects confidence in locking up ETH for long-term holding.
