The Ethereum network has recorded impressive utility, with over 467,000 unique address interactions in a single day, marking its highest activity since the onset of ETF announcements on June 16th. Such a surge in address activity is often a key driver for the value of Ethereum [ETH] and other digital assets.
The world’s largest altcoin continues to play a dominant role, reflective of its growing user base. ETH’s significant growth in the new address count can be attributed to the rising interest in decentralized finance [DeFi] protocols and non-fungible tokens [NFTs], many of which are built on the Ethereum platform.
This, combined with the expanding appeal of trading and smart contracts, means that ETH’s user base and the number of non-zero addresses are expected to continue rising, especially as the industry teeters on the brink of a potential bull run. Another catalyst could be the burgeoning rise of L2s.
According to a recent study led by esteemed data aggregator Coingecko, ETH’s Layer 2 [L2] blockchains are also experiencing unprecedented adoption rates, with some reaching one million users within weeks rather than months.
For instance, Arbitrum, an Ethereum-based L2 solution, took 303 days to reach one million unique addresses after its mainnet launch on August 31, 2021, according to Coingecko’s contributor Shaun Paul Lee. In comparison, the L2 solution Optimism, which launched in January 2022, achieved the same milestone in just 191 days.
Zksync, which initiated its mainnet on March 25, 2023, required only 71 days to amass one million addresses. Remarkably, Base, which launched its mainnet on August 9, 2023, attained over a million addresses in a mere 11 days.
The study attributed Base’s rapid growth to a surge in popularity surrounding new meme coins launched on the network. The base is an Ethereum L2 blockchain network developed by Coinbase, a San Francisco-based cryptocurrency firm.
Transforming the Way Ethereum Validates Historical Data
In a groundbreaking development for Ethereum, StarkWare, a leader in zk-proofs, and Herodotus, the developer of storage-proof technology, have collaborated to introduce an innovative developer tool called the “on-chain accumulator.” This tool utilizes storage-proof cryptography to enable users to validate Ethereum data from any historical point on the blockchain, eliminating the need for reliance on third-party intermediaries.
This partnership with StarkWare, known for its data compression techniques addressing scalability issues within the Ethereum ecosystem, aims to overcome one of Ethereum‘s limitations, which is the ability to validate only the last 256 block hashes.