As prices surge, the number of active ETH addresses exceeds the 2018 peak

Ethereum’s current price rally is supported by growing network usage, according to new records for several key metrics. The number of unique active Ethereum addresses acting as senders or receivers rose to a record high of 7.94 million on Sunday, according to data provider Glassnode.
Ethereum’s bull run appears to be backed by fundamentals, with active users of the Ethereum network booming along with the cryptocurrency’s price.
The number of unique active ethereum addresses acting as senders or receivers rose to a record high of 7.94 million on Sunday, surpassing the previous peak of 7.14 million reached on Jan. 16, 2018, according to data provider Glassnode.
That number has risen by more than 100,000 in the past three days alone, bringing the year-to-date increase to 86%.
“The fundamentals of the Ethereum network including ... transactions, active addresses, fee collection and many other metrics make Ethereum fundamentals strong,” said Shivam Thakral, CEO of India-based cryptocurrency exchange BuyUcoin.
Active Ethereum addresses and daily transaction counts bottomed out in early 2020 and have been rising since then, signaling a potential bull run for Ethereum. “When there is greater usage of a cryptocurrency, there is more demand, which drives the price higher,” Chainalysis economist Philip Gradwell told CoinDesk last year.
ETH, the native token of Ethereum, has responded positively to the growth of the network, rising a staggering 2,355% since the beginning of 2020. At press time, the cryptocurrency was trading above its record high of $4,100. According to CoinDesk 20 data, ETH's price has doubled in the past two weeks alone.
As of writing, Bitcoin, the largest cryptocurrency by market value, is trading around $58,200, up 100% year to date.

As prices soar, the number of active ETH addresses exceeds the 2018 peak. Since the first quarter of this year, the network has been facing network congestion problems and the fees charged are higher than those of competitors such as Binance Smart Chain.
However, high fees have largely failed to deter users so far, as evidenced by the continued rise in active addresses and transaction counts (which are also now at all-time highs), which analysts believe is a sign of real fundamental growth.
“Low-fee chains are more prone to faking activity than chains like Ethereum and Bitcoin,” said Alex Svanevik, CEO of blockchain data firm Nansen. “So when active addresses on Ethereum hit an all-time high, that’s a real sign of organic growth.”
Arash Ghaemi, strategy director at Two Prime Digital Assets, expects active user engagement to increase further as web search data shows that interest in Ethereum is on the rise.
“Ethereum searches are going parabolic, while Bitcoin searches are down/flat,” Ghaemi tweeted Monday. “As Google search interest rises, so too will active ETH addresses, putting upward pressure on price.” (CoinDesk)