Ethereum’s network experienced significant growth in the first quarter of 2024, with positive performance across various income statement metrics, including fees and overall revenue. Data from Coin98 Analytics revealed that Ethereum’s earnings in Q1 2024 tripled compared to the previous quarter, reaching $369 million, marking a 210% increase year-over-year from $119 million in Q1 2023. Transaction fees alone generated $1.2 billion in revenue during this period, a 155% increase compared to the previous year. Overall, Ethereum’s total revenue in Q1 2024 amounted to $1 billion, a surge of 186% compared to the same period in 2023 when it reached $385 million.
The success of Ethereum in the first quarter of 2024 aligned with the cryptocurrency approaching all-time high prices in March, leading to a substantial increase in transaction costs on the network. As Ethereum surpassed $3,000 in late February, users reported paying over $100 in ETH transaction fees during peak times. Despite the high transaction fees, Ethereum demonstrated significant growth in network usage throughout Q1 2024, with a quarter-over-quarter surge of 8.4% to surpass 107 million transactions. Network usage metrics, alongside income statement metrics, showed remarkable trends with over 107 million transactions conducted and almost 9.7 million new addresses created in Q1.
The total value locked in the Ethereum decentralized finance (DeFi) ecosystem rose by 86% quarter-over-quarter in Q1 2024, reaching $55.9 billion. Among Ethereum-based stablecoins, Tether maintained its position as the largest by market capitalization, witnessing a 14% increase in market value since the previous quarter. USDC, its main competitor, also experienced a quarter-over-quarter increase of 23% in the ERC-20 market value. Additionally, the Ethereum network achieved a significant milestone with over one million validators and around 32 million Ether staked within the network, worth approximately $114 billion. Approximately 26% of the total supply is staked, highlighting the substantial commitment to Ethereum’s proof-of-stake (PoS) consensus mechanism.
In March 2024, the Dune Analytics dashboard reported that the Ethereum network surpassed one million validators, with approximately 32 million ETH staked within the network, representing around 26% of the total supply. This highlights the substantial commitment to Ethereum’s proof-of-stake (PoS) consensus mechanism. Among the staking options available, about 30% of ETH is staked through Lido, an Ethereum staking pool that allows users with smaller amounts of ETH to pool their assets and participate in the staking process. Crypto investment firm Bitwise recently submitted an application to the SEC to launch a spot Ethereum ETF, positioning itself as one of many contenders in the race to introduce the first Ethereum spot ETF, following the successful launch of Bitcoin spot ETFs earlier this year. Interest from traditional financial firms, such as BlackRock, Grayscale, and VanEck, to offer Ethereum spot ETFs has also been growing in recent months.
Overall, the first quarter of 2024 was a period of significant growth and success for the Ethereum network, with impressive increases in earnings, transaction fees, revenues, and network usage. The network’s performance was bolstered by Ethereum approaching all-time high prices, leading to higher transaction costs. The significant milestones achieved, such as over one million validators and $55.9 billion locked in the DeFi ecosystem, reflect the strong commitment and interest in Ethereum’s ecosystem. With the increasing interest from traditional financial firms in launching Ethereum spot ETFs, this further indicates the growing recognition and adoption of Ethereum in the broader financial landscape.
