Ethereum has just recorded its most active month in over three years: more than $320 billion in on-chain volume circulated in August 2025. This marks the third-best monthly performance in the history of the network, surpassed only by the peaks of 2021. This figure includes not only regular transfers but also DeFi activity and interactions with smart contracts.
Ethereum back to 2021 levels
30-day transactions hit new records, while monthly active addresses reached their second-highest historical level. The TVL (Total Value Locked) remains close to its all-time high, confirming a massive resurgence of activity in the ecosystem.
This boom comes amidst a particular context: a surge in demand from corporate treasuries, rising trading on Ethereum spot ETFs, and transaction fees hitting multi-year lows.
Corporations and ETFs stepping up
Publicly traded companies have tripled their ether reserves. In a month, they have increased from around $4 billion to over $12 billion in ETH, thanks to notable purchases from BitMine Immersion and SharpLink Gaming. Meanwhile, spot ETFs have seen their volumes surge at the end of August, with consistent positive net flows. As a result, these products now hold over 5% of the total ether supply.
This institutional demand plays a catalytic role, cementing Ethereum as a cash asset for large companies, similar to Bitcoin since 2020.
Bottom fees, decisive upgrades
The historically low transaction costs also fuel this revival. The March 2024 Dencun upgrade introduced EIP-4844 (proto-danksharding), which reduced data costs for rollups and boosted Layer 2 activity. This year, the Pectra update has enhanced the user experience and developer tools, making the network smoother and more attractive.
Restaking and validator movements
Another notable phenomenon is a record number of validator exits coinciding with a peak in new entries. Some of these flows are directed towards liquid restaking protocols, attracting tens of billions of dollars in search of optimized yield and increased liquidity.
A dynamic drawing banks’ attention
Entities like Standard Chartered believe Ethereum remains undervalued compared to its fundamentals: treasury adoption, ETF success, technical innovations. At the same time, some major Bitcoin holders have reallocated a portion of their funds to ETH, strengthening the intertwined narrative between the two assets.
ETH still lagging behind its ATH
On Friday afternoon, ether was trading around $4,340, down 5% for the day and 12% from its all-time high. But the momentum in August confirms that, despite market corrections, Ethereum is positioning itself more than ever as the key infrastructure for digital finance.
