Ethereum Adds 292,000 New Users Daily After Fusaka Upgrade: Network Growth Explodes 110%

# Ethereum Adds 292,000 New Users Daily After Fusaka Upgrade: Network Growth Explodes 110%

Monday, January 5, 2026

While Bitcoin grabbed headlines hitting $93K, something bigger has been quietly happening on Ethereum—and almost nobody noticed.

Since the Fusaka upgrade launched December 3rd, Ethereum has been adding 292,000 new addresses every single day. That's a 110% surge in network growth in just over a month.

Here's the kicker: this is happening while ETH's price has been stable around $3,000. No hype. No FOMO. Just infrastructure working so well that people are actually using it.

## The Numbers Tell the Story

Current Ethereum Stats (January 5, 2026):

- Price: $3,173 (up 1.3% in 24h)

- New addresses daily: 292,000 (fastest growth since 2024 bull run)

- Network growth since Fusaka: +110%

- ETH ETF inflows (Jan 2): $174.5 million (best day in 15 sessions)

- Average daily transactions: 2.2 million

- Average transaction fee: $0.17

Yes, you read that right. Seventeen cents for an Ethereum mainnet transaction. When was the last time you heard someone complain about gas fees?

## What is Fusaka and Why It Matters

Fusaka (launched December 3, 2025) introduced PeerDAS (Peer Data Availability Sampling)—a technical upgrade that fundamentally changed how Ethereum handles data.

The simple version: Instead of every validator storing complete data packets, they now sample small pieces. Think BitTorrent for blockchain data.

The immediate impact:

- Layer 2 operational costs dropped 95%

- Blob capacity increased 8x (from 3 to 24+ blobs per block)

- Transaction fees on L2s fell 40-60% in first month

- Network capacity headed toward 100,000+ TPS

Translation: Ethereum just became massively cheaper and faster to use. And users are flooding in as a result.

## This Time Feels Different

The 110% growth in new addresses isn't speculative wallet creation for memecoins. It's sustained, real usage.

Evidence:

- Growth sustained for over a month (not a spike)

- Accelerated after upgrade (tech-driven, not hype)

- Mid-term holders (3-6 months) in profit and holding

- Layer 2 networks seeing record activity

- BlackRock and Franklin Templeton building products on Ethereum

During past bull runs, address growth spiked fast and died faster. This time, it's steady, organic adoption driven by infrastructure improvements.

## The Neobank Prediction

Mike Silagadze, CEO of ether.fi, made a bold call: "Neobanks will fuel Ethereum's 2026 growth."

His vision: crypto apps that look and feel like Revolut or Chime, but run entirely on Ethereum rails. Users don't think about wallets, gas, or bridges—they just use financial services that happen to be powered by blockchain.

"We need to move beyond gambling-driven activity and toward applications that solve real financial problems at scale," Silagadze said.

The infrastructure to support that? It just became 95% cheaper and 8x more scalable thanks to Fusaka.

## Real-World Adoption Happening Now

- Ferrari accepts Ethereum payments across US and Europe

- Visa settling billions in stablecoin volume using Ethereum

- Ethereum processed 2.2M transactions in a single day at $0.17 average fee

- BlackRock's tokenized money market fund: Built on Ethereum

- Franklin Templeton's government fund: Ethereum-based

This isn't theoretical. Major financial institutions are choosing Ethereum for real products moving real money.

## Technical Setup: Breakout Zone

From a trading perspective, ETH is at a critical point.

Chart Setup:

- Currently: $3,173

- Pattern: Descending wedge (bullish)

- Resistance: $3,200-$3,250

- Breakout target: $4,061

- Downside risk: $2,900

If ETH breaks above $3,250 with volume, target is $3,500+ quickly. If it fails here, could retest $2,900. But the longer it holds above $3K while network activity surges, the more bullish the setup becomes.

## Institutions Are Back

January 2nd ETH ETF inflows: $174.5 million (best day in 15 sessions).

After bleeding $2B in November-December due to tax-loss harvesting, institutions are quietly accumulating again.

Current ETH ETF stats:

- Total AUM: ~$18 billion

- 2025 inflows: $12+ billion

- Grayscale's ETHE led January inflows

BlackRock doesn't build on Ethereum for hype. Franklin Templeton doesn't tokenize funds on Ethereum for vibes. They do it because the infrastructure works and the regulatory path is clear.

## The Risks

Macro downturn: If global markets crash, crypto follows regardless of fundamentals.

Solana competition: If speed matters more than security for consumer apps, Ethereum could lose mindshare.

L2 fragmentation: Too many Layer 2s could confuse users and fragment liquidity.

Regulatory risk: Even though ETH is viewed as a commodity, policy can always change.

## Bottom Line

Ethereum is adding 292,000 new users daily. Fees are under $0.20. Network capacity increased 8x. Institutions are building real products. And the price is just... grinding.

This isn't the sexy "ETH to $10K next week" story people want. It's infrastructure quietly working so well that adoption accelerates without making noise.

Sometimes the best opportunities aren't the loudest ones. They're the ones actually building while everyone else chases headlines.

Ethereum just became massively more usable. Turns out, people actually use things that work.

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## References

1. FX Leaders - "Ethereum Eyes $4,061 Breakout as Network Growth Surges 110% Post-Fusaka Upgrade" (January 5, 2026)

2. CryptoTimes.io - "Ethereum Sees 110% Surge in New Holders After Fusaka Upgrade" (January 5, 2026)

3. CryptoNews.com - "Ethereum New Addresses Up 110% Since Fusaka Upgrade" (January 5, 2026)

4. CoinDesk - "Neobanks will fuel Ethereum's 2026 growth, says ether.fi CEO" (January 4, 2026)

5. BeInCrypto - "Ethereum's New Holder Count Jumped 110% Since December's Fusaka Upgrade" (January 4, 2026)

6. CoinGecko - "What Is the Fusaka Upgrade: Ethereum's Next Hard Fork" (December 2025)

7. AMBCrypto - "'January effect' hits as Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs see $645mln inflows" (January 4, 2026)