Ethereum just had its busiest quarter ever, capping a three-year comeback

Quarterly transactions hit 200.4 million in Q1 2026, the first time above 200 million and more than double the 2023 lows. What to know : Ethereum processed a record 200.4 million base-layer transactions in the first quarter of 2026, capping a multi-year U-shaped recovery in network activity. Despite the surge in usage, ether remains more than 50 percent below its August 2025 peak near $5,000, creating a divergence between fundamentals and price. Much of the growth is driven by Layer 2 and stablecoin settlement, which boosts L1 transaction counts but, after the Dencun upgrade, does not translate cleanly into higher fees, token burn or holder value.