Ethereum Wallet Creations Hit Record High After Fusaka Upgrade, Boosting Network Activity

Published: 2026-01-15 05:24:44 |

Ethereum saw a record surge in new wallet creation and active addresses following the December Fusaka upgrade. Analytics firm Santiment reported a one-day peak near 393,600 new wallets and a seven-day average of roughly 327,100 daily new addresses, while ETH-holding addresses rose to about 173 million. Analysts attribute the growth to lower on-chain costs and improved UX from the Fusaka upgrade, which made Layer-2 data posting cheaper and encouraged renewed activity in DeFi, NFTs and stablecoin transfers—particularly USDC. DeFiLlama shows over $76 billion worth of ETH locked in DeFi protocols, and custodians/exchanges such as Binance and Coinbase together hold more than 6 million ETH for users. The reports note increased stablecoin settlement activity in late 2025 and quote ecosystem optimism (including comments from Vitalik Buterin) about progress on long-standing design challenges. For traders, higher wallet creation and stablecoin flows signal rising retail engagement, on-chain liquidity and potential for increased volatility in ETH and Ethereum-based tokens, though some new addresses may be bots or inactive and price appreciation is not guaranteed.

Bullish

The surge in wallet creation and active ETH-holding addresses, coupled with lower on-chain costs after the Fusaka upgrade, is a bullish signal for ETH price action. Higher retail onboarding and increased stablecoin settlement typically raise on-chain demand and liquidity, improving market depth and enabling larger flows into DeFi and exchange order books. Short-term, this can increase volatility as new entrants and reactivated users trade, mint NFTs, or move stablecoins — creating momentum-driven price moves. Medium- to long-term, sustained user growth and higher total value locked (DeFiLlama’s $76bn+ ETH figure) support stronger fundamental demand for ETH, especially if upgrade-related fee savings persist. However, the bullish case is tempered by caveats: a portion of new addresses may be bots or inactive, exchanges custody large ETH reserves (6m+ ETH), and wallet growth does not guarantee price appreciation. Traders should watch on-chain metrics (net inflows to exchanges, stablecoin flows, active addresses) and liquidity changes to time entries and manage risk.