Ethereum’s number of contract calls, a measure of network activity, just hit an all-time high as the decentralized finance (DeFi) segment continues its blistering streak.
In its new State of the Network report, the crypto data aggregator Coin Metrics says Ethereum executed a record high of 3.11 million daily contract calls on July 25th. Contract calls refer to requests for a specific smart contract function and are a sign of how much the network is being utilized. In contrast to transactions, contract calls are not published on the Ethereum blockchain.
The record activity comes as the total value locked in DeFi protocols increases to $4 billion from just under $1 billion in April and $3 billion on July 22nd. Ethereum benefited from the booming sector as the underlying blockchain that powers the DeFi ecosystem.
“After weeks of decentralized finance (DeFi) growth with little movement from Ether (ETH), ETH finally exploded this past week. ETH market cap grew 15.6% week-over-week leading all other major cryptoassets.”
Coin Metrics says Ethereum is showing strong gains in network fundamentals amid signs of recovery in crypto assets.
Ethereum transaction fees soared more than 76.1% week-over-week. In addition, ETH adjusted transfer value spiked, increasing 77.9% and posting an average of $1 billion daily. Meanwhile, ETH fees averaged more than $1.5 million per day last week, eclipsing Bitcoin’s fees by $500,000 each day.