Ethereum is seeing a growing divergence between the level of activity on the network and spot prices, suggesting that transactional activity alone isn’t driving demand for Ether.
Ethereum network activity has been reaching record highs, according to CryptoQuant, including active addresses, token transfers, and smart contract calls.
Total active addresses spiked to over 1.1 million in February, more than double the prior-year period, while token transfers topped a million in March, up from around 750,000 in December, according to CryptoQuant data.
Smart contract and automated protocol token transfers have also climbed to record levels, reflecting the growth of decentralized finance (DeFi), stablecoins, automated protocols and layer-2 ecosystems.
Ethereum layer-2 Lisk’s head of research, Leon Waidmann, also observed on X on Wednesday that Circle’s USDC (USDC) usage on Ethereum just hit an all-time high, according to Token Terminal.
However, despite the network activity, the price of Ether (ETH) remains down almost 60% from its peak, indicating “a clear divergence between network usage and asset performance,” said Julio Moreno, head of research at CryptoQuant, on Tuesday, calling it an “adoption paradox.”
The findings challenge previous notions that crypto network activity translates into demand for the asset that drives price increases.
ETH price dynamics driven by capital flows
Moreno added that the yearly change in Ethereum’s realized capitalization has turned negative, showing that capital is exiting from Ether.
“This aligns closely with ETH price weakness and suggests that ETH price dynamics are driven primarily by capital flows rather than network activity growth.”
Related: Ether funding rate flips negative: Are ETH bears back in control?
ETH price is in deep bear territory
Ether is currently trading at just above $2,000, consolidating just above the levels it ranged at for over a year in the 2022-2023 bear market.
However, it’s not just Ether suffering, as the broader crypto market is down 44%, or around $2 trillion from its October peak.
Many altcoins are down 80% amid a liquidity drought, amplified by a risk-off investment environment due to ongoing geopolitical conflict.
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