Ethereum (ETH) is processing more transactions than ever before, yet its token has slipped below $2,200 after a weak May.
Ethereum Activity Hits Record High
Monthly transactions on the network have climbed past 70 million, a fresh all-time high, even as fees and protocol revenue keep sliding lower.
That gap sits at the center of a question now drawing renewed debate among analysts: whether the market is mispricing Ethereum, or simply pricing it correctly.
On the surface, falling fees and shrinking revenue make ETH's recent slump look reasonable. The token is down roughly 6.2% in May and continues to lag Bitcoin (BTC) across most major timeframes.
But the on-chain picture cuts the other way. Cheaper transactions appear to be pulling more users onto the network rather than fewer, and median fees have dropped to record lows near a fraction of a cent.
Why Lower Fees Hurt ETH
The cost compression traces back to the Fusaka upgrade, which raised the block gas limit and made it cheaper for Layer 2 rollups to settle data on the mainnet.
Lower fees, however, weaken one of Ethereum's bullish levers. The network burns less ETH through its fee-destruction mechanism when gas is cheap, which trims the deflationary pressure that supported the token during high-fee cycles.
The result is a network that is more usable but, in the short term, less aggressively bullish on token economics, a tension analysts say explains part of the disconnect between usage and price.
Also Read: XRP Eyes $1.50 Breakout As Exchange Supply Tightens
ETH Price Slide In Recent Weeks
May has been a hard month for ETH holders, with the token now trading near $2,100, below all major moving averages and well short of the $2,400 resistance it has failed to clear, leaving it far from its August 2025 peak near $4,946.
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