Ethereum Wallet Creation Surges Following Fusaka Upgrade, Boosting On-Chain Activity
Ethereum network activity surged in early January 2026, with new address creation reaching unprecedented levels. According to on-chain analytics provider Santiment, the Ethereum blockchain witnessed an average of 327,000 new wallets being created per day over the past week. The highlight came on Sunday, January 11, when a record-breaking 393,000 new wallets were created, setting a new all-time high.
This surge in wallet creation has pushed the total number of non-empty ETH wallets to 172.9 million, indicating a significant increase in user and institutional adoption of Ethereum. During this period, the price of Ether also saw a positive momentum, trading at $3,330 and gaining 7.5% over 24 hours. This price increase was attributed to lower fees following the Fusaka upgrade and higher volumes of stablecoin transfers, which contributed to increased network usage.
Santiment, in a public update, highlighted this rapid growth in wallet creation, stating that Ethereum’s new wallet growth had reached unprecedented levels. The integration of the Fusaka upgrade, which was implemented on December 3, 2025, played a significant role in reducing transaction fees by increasing the block gas limit from 45 million to 150 million. This upgrade also introduced PeerDAS data availability sampling and Verkle Trees to improve data efficiency.
These technical changes not only optimized the interaction of Layer 2 solutions with the mainnet but also streamlined the posting of rollup transactions back to Ethereum. As a result, applications, decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols, and NFT platforms experienced enhanced efficiency and lower operational costs. Analysts at Santiment believe that the lower fees have played a crucial role in attracting new users to the Ethereum network, as reduced transaction costs have historically been a barrier to broader participation.
Moreover, the increase in stablecoin transfer volumes on Ethereum towards the end of 2025 highlighted the robust usage of the network for payments and settlements. This trend has attracted participants interested in holding and transacting tokenized assets, leading to a shift in market sentiment among ETH holders from negative to positive. Additionally, more than half of the total ETH supply is now locked in staking contracts, with 77 million ETH residing in the Beacon Deposit, contributing to network security and reflecting long-term holder commitment.
The recent growth in wallet creation has occurred alongside Ethereum’s sideways trading, indicating that the increase is driven more by utility and real usage rather than speculative trading activities. Centralized exchanges such as Binance and Coinbase continue to hold significant amounts of ETH on behalf of their users, according to data from Nansen.
Overall, the surge in wallet creation, stablecoin transfers, and efficiency gains post-Fusaka upgrade demonstrate strong momentum within the Ethereum ecosystem. However, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin emphasizes the need for further advancements in decentralized stablecoins to achieve genuine financial autonomy. Reducing dependence on the US Dollar and enhancing oracle security are crucial steps to strengthen the resilience and decentralization of stablecoin infrastructure on Ethereum.
