Ethereum is flashing a classic divergence signal network usage is accelerating fast while price action remains under pressure. On-chain data shows a sharp rise in active addresses, transactions, and smart-contract interactions even as ETH trades roughly 30% below its recent local highs. For analysts and traders, this disconnect is fueling debate around whether Ethereum is quietly forming a market bottom.
Ethereum Price Under Pressure Despite Strong Network Growth
As of early February 2026, Ethereum is trading in the $2,080-$2,100 range after failing to hold above the $2,300 resistance zone. The recent pullback wiped out a significant amount of leveraged long positions, with derivatives markets recording an estimated $450 million in ETH liquidations over a seven-day period. Spot volume also cooled by roughly 18% week-over-week, reflecting short-term risk-off sentiment across crypto markets.
Active Addresses Show Parabolic Growth
Ethereum’s daily active addresses have surged to approximately 1.25 million, marking a nearly 22% increase compared to the previous monthly average. Weekly active addresses are up even more sharply, climbing close to 30% month-over-month. This is one of the fastest growth rates recorded since mid-2021.
Transaction counts support the same trend. Daily transactions have risen from an average of 1.1 million to nearly 1.4 million, a jump of about 27%. Importantly, this growth is not isolated to a single sector — DeFi protocols, NFT platforms, and Layer-2 bridge interactions have all contributed meaningfully to the increase.
Smart Contract Usage and Layer-2 Activity Accelerate
Smart-contract calls are up roughly 19% over the past four weeks, signaling heavier use of decentralized applications rather than simple wallet-to-wallet transfers. Layer-2 networks built on Ethereum are also seeing explosive activity, with combined rollup transaction volume increasing by an estimated 35% month-over-month.
This matters because Layer-2 adoption directly strengthens Ethereum’s long-term scalability narrative. More rollup usage means more data posted back to Ethereum’s base layer, reinforcing ETH’s role as the settlement backbone of the ecosystem.
Gas Fees Stay Stable Despite Rising Demand
One of the most bullish under-the-radar metrics is gas efficiency. Despite higher transaction volume, average gas fees have remained relatively stable, hovering around 22-26 gwei. That suggests improved network efficiency and reduced congestion, a sharp contrast to previous cycles where activity spikes triggered runaway fees.
Lower and predictable fees tend to attract more users, developers, and capital creating a feedback loop that supports sustained network growth.
Why Analysts Are Watching for a Bottom Signal
Historically, Ethereum bottoms have often formed when on-chain activity rises while price lags behind. In prior cycles, similar divergences preceded multi-month accumulation phases before major upside moves. Analysts note that rising active addresses during price weakness often indicate long-term holders accumulating rather than speculative traders chasing momentum.
Wallet data reinforces this view. Addresses holding between 10 and 1,000 ETH have increased their balances by an estimated 4.6% over the past month, signaling quiet accumulation from mid-sized investors.
What This Means for Ethereum Going Forward
Short-term volatility remains likely, especially with macro uncertainty and cautious risk sentiment still dominating markets. However, analytically speaking, Ethereum’s network metrics are showing strength that typically appears during early recovery phases rather than late-cycle tops.
If active address growth continues at its current pace and price stabilizes above the $2,000 psychological level, many analysts expect a broader re-rating of ETH valuation relative to its on-chain usage.
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