Ethereum On-Chain Activity Hits 2025 High with $97 Billion Locked in DeFi

Transactions and daily active addresses on Ethereum are approaching all-time highs, signaling renewed engagement on the network as public companies rush to scoop up ETH for their crypto treasuries.

On Thursday, Aug. 15, the network recorded nearly 1.8 million transactions, according to Token Terminal data, nearing its all-time high of 1.9 million transactions. Daily transactions have since stabilized at around 1.5 million on average, up from roughly 950,000 in January 2024.

Daily active addresses are also climbing, nearing 600,000, setting a new record when excluding occasional spike days in 2023.

At the same time, figures from Artemis show that gas usage remains moderate at around $1 million per day, far below the $40 million peaks of 2021-2022, suggesting that this growth is being driven more by consistent usage and institutional participation than by short-term speculative mania.

Amid the increased on-chain activity, the total value locked (DeFi) in Ethereum’s DeFi ecosystem spiked to $97 billion, the highest level since November 2021, per DefiLlama, when Ethereum’s TVL reached an all-time high of $105 billion.

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The surge has coincided with unprecedented institutional inflows as spot Ethereum ETFs attracted more than $2.8 billion in a single week, including a $1.02 billion single-day inflow on Aug. 11, pushing total ETF assets above $25 billion. The trend reversed on Aug. 18, when the funds saw $196.6 million in outflows.

Fueled by institutional interest, the price of ETH climbed to $4,776 on Aug.14, its highest level this year, before sliding to $4,076 and recovering to about $4,300 at press time.

While the token remains below its all-time peak, Fundstrat’s head of digital asset research, Sean Farrell, said on Aug. 13 that he expects ETH could reach $10,000 by year-end, with a bullish prediction of $12,000 to $15,000.