Key Highlights
- Ethereum processed over 2.23 million transactions on December 29, marking the network’s all-time high daily transaction count.
- For the first time in six months, the validator entry queue significantly outpaced the exit queue, with approximately 740,000 ETH waiting to be staked versus 350,000–370,000 ETH queued for exit.
- The combination of high on-chain activity, rock-bottom fees, and efficient integrations underscores Ethereum’s maturation as a robust base layer for Layer-2 networks.
As 2025 came to an end, Ethereum shattered records for daily transactions while fees remained at rock-bottom levels. Coupled with a significant reversal in staking queues, where inflows now substantially outpace exits, the achievement signals renewed confidence in the network’s fundamentals.
On December 29, Ethereum mainnet processed over 2.23 million transactions in a single day, according to data from block explorer Etherscan. This marks the highest daily transaction count in the history of the network, surpassing previous peaks and highlighting robust on-chain activity despite broader market volatility.
A result of Pectra and Fusaka upgrades
The surge is largely attributed to two major upgrades implemented in 2025: the Pectra upgrade in May and the Fusaka upgrade in early December. Pectra optimized validator efficiency and Layer-2 (L2) interactions, while Fusaka introduced PeerDAS (Peer Data Availability Sampling) and expanded block capacity by approximately 33%.
These changes allowed the network to handle significantly more transactions per block without compromising decentralization or overwhelming validators.
Additionally, Fusaka’s enhancements to data “blobs,” which have dramatically improved scalability. Blobs are temporary storage for L2 rollup data that bundles transactions and provide data to Ethereum L1. Nodes on the network can now verify large data chunks by sampling rather than downloading everything.
This combination of high activity and efficiency demonstrates Ethereum’s evolution into a more scalable settlement layer. This development is significant as much of the ecosystem’s volume migrates to L2 solutions like Arbitrum, Optimism, and Base.
Ethereum staking queue crossover
Another positive indicator is the dramatic flip in Ethereum’s staking queues. For the first time in six months, the validator entry queue has surpassed the exit queue, with approximately 740,000 ETH waiting to be staked compared to 350,000–370,000 ETH queued for exit.
This reversal reflects growing long-term confidence among validators and investors. The process of staking involves locking ETH to secure the proof-of-stake network, and increased inflows reduce potential selling pressure while boosting network security.
A part of this surge is driven by institutional activity, including large deposits from entities like BitMine, which has staked a total of $1.37 billion worth of ETH in recent months. The Pectra upgrade also played a role by improving staking flexibility and reducing activation times for new validators.
Drastic decrease in ETH fees
The timing of the new shift aligns with transaction fees on Ethereum mainnet reducing drastically this year. At the time of transaction numbers hitting a new high, the average fees have plummeted to around $0.17 per transaction. This number is at the lowest levels in recent years and a stark contrast to the 2022 peaks when fees exceeded $200 during congestion.
The fee reduction stems directly as result of Pectra upgrade, which doubled blob capacity per block and lowering costs for L2s to settle data on the mainnet. The former upgrade Fusaka built on this by introducing efficient data verification and further optimizations.
For context, simple transfers and complex smart contract interactions on Ethereum now cost fractions of a dollar. This affordability has fueled the transaction surge: lower fees drive more usage, which in turn validates the network’s scaling efforts.
At the time of publishing, ETH was trading near $2,995 with a 24 hour trading volume of $17.35 billion as per CoinMarketCap.
Also read: Vitalik Buterin Urges Stronger Decentralization to Curb Crypto Power
