Ethereum’s latest upgrade, Dencun, went live on March 13, but previous notable upgrades have helped significantly reduce the total supply of Ether.
As of mid-week, total Ethereum supply had fallen to its lowest level since August 2022, according to data from CryptoQuant cited by CNBC. It was shortly after that date that Ethereum performed the most significant upgrade in its history, changing from Proof-of-Work to Proof-of-Stake (an upgrade known as The Merge).
Moreover, the rate of decline in ether supply is currently at its fastest since May 2023. According to data from Ultrasonic.money, over the past 30 days, ether supply has decreased at an annual rate of 0.872%. For comparison, the decline after The Merge was 0.246%.
“High activity on the Ethereum network has resulted in high transaction fees, resulting in more fees being burned,” Julio Moreno, head of research at CryptoQuant, said in a note Wednesday.
In actual numbers after The Merge, over 1.56 million ETH has been burned, while less than 1.12 million ETH has been issued. This resulted in a net loss of over 446,000 Ethereum, worth approximately $1.62 billion at current prices.
Ethereum’s on-chain indicators are hot
While Solana’s network activity is receiving a lot of attention, Ethereum’s activity is still noteworthy.
The 7-day moving average of transactions on the Ethereum network is close to the 12-month high recorded in January. According to The Block data, 1.26 million transactions were recorded yesterday on the second-largest blockchain by market capitalization.
“Total daily trading volume is hovering at the highest level not seen since May 2023,” Moreno said, adding, “High trading activity is causing network fees to skyrocket, more fees to be burned, and total supply to decrease.”
Meanwhile, the number of active addresses on the Ethereum network is hitting yearly and 12-month highs. Yesterday, The Block’s data recorded approximately 540,000 active Ethereum addresses.
Likewise, the number of new addresses on the Ethereum network also hit a 12-month high YTD. According to data from The Block, more than 120,000 new Ethereum addresses were discovered on the network yesterday.
Additionally, Ethereum’s on-chain volume hit a new YTD and 12-month high. According to data from The Block, on-chain trading volume hit over $7 billion yesterday.
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