On March 11, it was reported that Ethereum (ETH) network activity hit a record high, but the price did not rise accordingly. CryptoQuant’s report shows that in February 2026, the number of active daily addresses on Ethereum approached 2 million, with over 40 million daily smart contract calls and record-breaking token transfers across DeFi, stablecoins, and automated protocols. However, over the past six months, ETH’s price has fallen about 30%, indicating that on-chain activity alone is no longer enough to drive prices higher.
Capital flow has become the main driver of price movements. Data shows that ETH inflows to exchanges are faster than Bitcoin’s, suggesting increasing selling pressure. Market capitalization has turned negative year-over-year, meaning more funds are flowing out than in. Transaction fee revenue is also under pressure; according to DefiLlama, Ethereum’s transaction fee income over the past 30 days was about $10.3 million, far below Tron and Solana. Layer 2 networks like Base are offloading transaction settlements, reducing the revenue concentration on the main chain.
Despite this, Ethereum still controls about 52% of the global stablecoin supply, totaling approximately $162 billion, but this advantage has not yet directly supported ETH’s price. Price prediction platform CoinCodex indicates ETH could reach $3,000 by May 2026, remaining mostly above $2,000 throughout the year, with a potential peak near $3,673. By December, ETH is expected to reach $2,477, representing a return of about 28%.
Regarding ETFs, on March 10, Ethereum spot ETFs saw a total net inflow of $12.59 million, with all nine ETFs experiencing no net outflows that day, showing sustained long-term investor interest in ETH. Despite record-high network activity, market focus remains on capital flows and institutional behavior, which could influence short-term price volatility and investment strategies.
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