Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH) recorded all-time highs in users, transactions and throughput during Q1, even as its market capitalization, trading activity and fee generation declined amid broader crypto market weakness.
Activity Surge, But Financial Metrics Dive
Ethereum’s network delivered record levels of usage during the quarter, with monthly active users, transaction counts and throughput reaching new highs, the Token Terminal Q1 ecosystem report stated on June 18.
ETH holder addresses rose 8.1% over prior quarter, while 25% from prior year quarter, suggesting ownership continued broadening despite the market downturn.
The growth came as ETH continued to cement its position as the leading blockchain for tokenized assets, stablecoins and on-chain financial applications.
The report highlighted several key developments during the quarter, including the rollout of the Fusaka upgrade’s Blob Parameters Only (BPO #2) fork in January, the launch of ERC-8004 for AI-agent identity and reputation in February, and growing institutional engagement through events such as the Institutional Ethereum Forum in March.
Despite the surge in activity, Ethereum’s financial metrics moved in the opposite direction. Over the past three months, ETH prices dropped around 20%.
Average fully diluted market capitalization fell 30.3% quarter-over-quarter to $290 billion, while ecosystem total value locked (TVL) declined 11% to $316.2 billion. Decentralized exchange trading volume dropped 24% to $134.5 billion, and ecosystem fees fell 16.9% to $2 billion.
Dominance In On-Chain Finance
Ethereum remained the largest blockchain ecosystem by a wide margin as its average TVL of $316.2 billion exceeded the combined TVL of Tron, Solana (CRYPTO: SOL), BNB Chain and Plasma, accounting for 71% of the top five chains’ total locked capital.
Aave continued to dominate Ethereum lending markets with around $13.5 billion in active loans at quarter-end, followed by Morpho, Spark and Maple.
ETH also remained the largest generator of application revenue across major blockchains, producing $2 billion in ecosystem fees during the quarter, or roughly 58% of fees generated by the top five chains.
The only major category where Ethereum trailed a competitor was decentralized exchange volume, where BNB Chain’s $162.5 billion exceeded Ethereum’s $134.5 billion.
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