Ethereum settled over $6 trillion in transactions in the past 12 months, a 369% increase over 2020. Transactions worth $ 1.5 trillion were settled in the third quarter alone.
Ethereum is hitting new milestones by the week, it appears, as data from Messari shows that a staggering $6.2 trillion in transactions were recorded in the past 12 months. Compared to 2020, this represents a 369% increase in transaction volume. Unsurprisingly, the price of Ethereum has increased significantly alongside this jump in usage.
The third quarter in particular was a very strong period for the Ethereum network, where it recorded $ 1.5 trillion in transactions. Stablecoins have also been a major part of the transaction volume, which is not surprising given the versatility of its use.
Ethereum is currently valued at over $ 3,400 and showing clear signs of staying above $ 3,000. As for its performance and presence, it’s outperforming bitcoin by 43x in terms of fee revenue.
The Ethereum network is currently in the process of being upgraded to ETH 2.0, which will result in a change to proof-of-stake consensus and scalability improvements, among other features. This will greatly increase the usability of the network, even as many competitors like Cardano introduce smart contract upgrades.
ETH 2.0 is still a long way from releasing all of its features, as the dev team releases upgrades on a phased basis. However, the benefits are already beginning to show, especially with the advent of new DeFi products and NFTs.
NFT and DeFi boosting Ethereum
Ethereum is truly coming of age as companies and independent development teams embrace its smart contracts. The arrival of scalability solutions, like that provided by Polygon, has also helped tremendously in facilitating usage.
Two niches that are the pillars of the Ethereum network are non-fungible tokens (NFT) and decentralized finance (DeFi), both of which have experienced an exceptional 12-month period. NFTs, in particular, are showing great signs of growth, pulling in companies, major brands, and celebrities. The versatility of its smart contracts has really started to show up within these two industries.
For the longest time, gas fees and network bottlenecks have suffocated the market. Though this is far from fully fixed, it has indeed taken a large leap forward. As Ethereum transactions continue to rise and more use cases arrive, the need for scalability will only increase.
