Ethereum mainnet averages 2.16M daily transactions in 2026 as fees fall 58%
In brief
- Daily mainnet transactions averaged a record 2.16 million in 2026, per Crypto Briefing, with 899,000 daily active addresses.
- Median mainnet fees fell tenfold, from 35 cents to 3.5 cents.
- Total mainnet fees dropped about 58% year over year to roughly 67,665 ETH.
- Mainnet stablecoin transfers hit $25.8 trillion from January to October, up 61%.
- Late-October activity slipped to about 1.8 million daily transactions and 535,000 active addresses.
Activity up, fees down
A separate research tally (Crypto Briefing didn't name who compiled it) covering January through October put the mainnet average at approximately 2.17 million daily transactions, a 54% increase from the prior year. Over the same period, median transaction fees fell from 35 cents to 3.5 cents.
That's a tenfold drop.
Does more activity mean more revenue? Crypto Briefing's numbers say no. Total fees paid on the mainnet fell about 58% year over year, to roughly 67,665 ETH across the 10-month period. The research ties that smaller fee take to net growth in ETH supply, even as transaction counts rose. Crypto Briefing argued the decline shows volume alone hasn't made up for lower revenue per transaction (if a network grows by getting cheaper, it earns less on each transaction).
The research ties the lower fee take to net growth in ETH supply, even as transaction counts climbed.
Stablecoins and layer-2s carry the load
The report called stablecoins (the dollar-pegged tokens crypto users treat as digital cash) a major engine of mainnet growth. Stablecoin transfers on Ethereum's main chain totaled $25.8 trillion from January to October 2026, a 61% increase.
Layer-2 networks, which bundle transactions and settle them back to Ethereum, averaged 23.3 million daily transactions over the same stretch. That's roughly ten times the mainnet's count. Add the two together and the broader Ethereum ecosystem handled about 25 million transactions a day, which fits the scaling plan Ethereum has followed for years: push activity out to layer-2s so the base chain can work as a secure settlement layer.
Recent numbers sit below the average
Activity has cooled lately. Crypto Briefing put daily mainnet activity at around 1.8 million transactions from late October into the first days of November, with daily active addresses at roughly 535,000. Both figures are well below the year's averages of 2.16 million transactions and 899,000 addresses.
Frequently asked questions
Why did Ethereum mainnet fees fall while transactions rose in 2026?
According to Crypto Briefing, median mainnet fees fell from 35 cents to 3.5 cents, a tenfold reduction. Total mainnet fees fell about 58% year over year to roughly 67,665 ETH over 10 months. The outlet argued that higher volume alone hasn't offset the lower revenue per transaction.
How much activity do Ethereum layer-2 networks handle compared with mainnet?
Crypto Briefing reported that layer-2 networks averaged 23.3 million daily transactions in 2026, roughly ten times the mainnet's daily count. Together, mainnet and layer-2s handled about 25 million transactions a day.
