Ethereum News Today: Ethereum’s Network Expands Rapidly While Investors Lean Toward Bitcoin

Ethereum has experienced a notable increase in on-chain activity, reaching its highest point in five months. This growth is largely attributed to renewed interest in decentralized finance (DeFi), a rise in stablecoin transactions, and more frequent smart contract usage. The number of daily active addresses has risen to about 550,000, and gas consumption—a key measure of network usage—has hit levels last seen at the end of 2024. This heightened activity reflects renewed optimism in Ethereum’s ecosystem, with experts drawing comparisons to previous bull market cycles, as reported by

.

This resurgence is primarily driven by strong participation in DeFi, especially within lending platforms and decentralized exchanges (DEXs). Services such as

, which currently secures over $32 billion in total value locked (TVL), have seen a boost in liquidity. DEX trading activity has also recovered, with average swap fees at $0.21, according to . Stablecoins like (USDT) and USD Coin (USDC) are the main drivers of smart contract activity, making up a large portion of gas costs. Data from ultrasound.money shows that DeFi protocols alone are responsible for burning around 48 ETH in transaction fees each day.

Layer 2 (L2) scaling solutions have significantly contributed to lowering transaction costs, with Ethereum mainnet gas fees dropping below one gwei. This has improved accessibility for users, as L2s now process a growing share of transactions, while Layer 1 (L1) continues to hold the majority of liquidity. Although L2 activity growth has slowed, these solutions now account for more than 15% of Ethereum’s total economic revenue, based on Grow The Pie analytics.

ETH’s price has followed this on-chain momentum, rebounding to $4,164.23 by late October 2025. Despite ongoing short-term fluctuations—including $124.6 million in liquidations over the last 24 hours—the overall trend remains strong, according to

. Technical signals such as the Relative Strength Index (RSI) and Stochastic Oscillator point to continued bullishness, though the latter’s overbought reading could mean a brief pullback, as noted by FXStreet.

Nevertheless,

is facing challenges as capital flows shift. has seen $931 million in net inflows over the past week, fueled by optimism about possible U.S. interest rate cuts, while Ethereum experienced its first outflows in five weeks, totaling $168.7 million, according to . This contrast underscores a growing institutional preference for Bitcoin, though Ethereum’s network continues to grow, with total TVL now exceeding $89 billion, as per Coinotag.

There are still significant risks, especially in lending protocols. The value of liquidatable positions on DeFi platforms has doubled to $2.2 billion, and loan concentrations near the $3,600 ETH price level point to increased risk-taking since the October 10-11 downturn, according to Coinotag. Experts warn that while Ethereum’s on-chain fundamentals are strong, these vulnerabilities should be closely watched by market participants.

The recent surge in activity coincides with efficiency improvements following Ethereum’s Merge upgrade, making the network more attractive for high-volume use cases. Glassnode analysts report that ETH transfer volumes have recently overtaken those of

, indicating renewed utility for the native token. As Ethereum approaches key resistance levels—such as $4,270—investors are considering whether this momentum could spark a broader bull run, according to FXStreet’s analysis.