Ethereum on-chain activity hits record high... Price stalls just below the $3,000 mark

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Ethereum On-Chain Activity Reaches All-Time High… Price Stalls Just Below $3,000 Barrier

Ethereum’s trading volume and network demand have hit record highs, yet the ETH price still cannot break through the $3,000 mark. Despite whale accumulation and increased fee burns, short-term sell sentiment remains restrained.

Layer2 settlement and DeFi growth boost network demand

According to on-chain analysis firm CryptoOnchain(CryptoOnchain), Ethereum’s 7-day average trading volume reached approximately 1.73 million transactions as of December 24, setting an all-time high. This figure was achieved without significant fee surges, indicating that the network is handling demand much more efficiently than in the past.

The main drivers of increased activity include transaction settlements on Layer2 networks like Arbitrum(ARB) and Optimism(OP), increased usage of DeFi products, and consistent stablecoin transfers. Despite these improvements in Ethereum’s fundamental usability, the ETH price at the time remained around $2,950(approximately 4.25 million won), continuing a stagnant trend. This is significantly lower than the peaks seen in 2021 and 2025.

( Increase in holdings vs. short-term sell signals… conflicting on-chain signals

According to a report at the end of December, many ETH whales continue to accumulate. Notably, wallets holding between 10,000 and 100,000 ETH now hold over 21 million ETH. During the same period, centralized exchanges’ ETH holdings decreased by over 4 million ETH annually, indicating a continuous reduction in circulating supply.

On the other hand, short-term market flows are not optimistic. As of the 25th, crypto analyst Amr Taha)Amr Taha### pointed out that approximately $1.4 billion(about 2.21 trillion won) of ETH flowed into major exchanges. Such large transfers, often interpreted as sell signals, were observed shortly after some stablecoins like USDT exited the market, suggesting a possible defensive stance.

( Price stagnation, limited volatility, focus on future direction

Ethereum is currently trading within a narrow range of $2,900–$3,000)approximately 4.19 million–4.33 million won###, forming a consolidation zone. Recent 24-hour volatility was within 1%, and 7-day changes were minimal. Over two weeks, the price declined about 9%, and over a year, it fell 14%. While the short-term trend is converging, analysts are watching the $3,100(approximately 447,000 won) level as a key technical resistance. Breaking through this zone could open the door to greater upside potential.

( Increased usage and ETH burn as long-term bullish factors

Despite the price’s sluggish movement, increased transaction activity on the network is impacting ETH’s supply structure. Thanks to the EIP-1559 fee burn mechanism, more active trading results in ETH being burned)destroyed###, which suppresses supply growth. This could positively influence ETH’s scarcity and price in the medium to long term.

Since most DeFi assets and stablecoins continue to flow on Ethereum, the market is increasingly unable to ignore the reality of Ethereum’s ‘value not reflected.’ Currently, while network fundamentals remain strong, the price is balancing between reflecting liquidity and short-term sentiment, marking a transitional phase.

(# Glossary

• Layer2: An auxiliary network operating on top of the main blockchain)Layer1###, which processes transactions quickly and cheaply, then records results on the main chain.
• EIP-1559: An upgrade to Ethereum’s fee structure that burns part of the transaction fees, reducing ETH supply.