Abstract

• Amidst cooling market enthusiasm and a more risk-averse sentiment, ETH’s price experienced a significant correction in Q1, with its market capitalization shrinking to approximately $217.3 billion.

• The daily average trading volume for ETH options saw a substantial 34.5% quarter-over-quarter (QoQ) increase to $840 million. However, open interest declined by 6.9% QoQ, indicating a neutral market sentiment.
• ETH spot ETFs experienced continued outflows, reflecting a more conservative investor stance. Notably, Grayscale surpassed BlackRock to become the largest holder of ETH ETF.
• The total number of unique ETH on-chain addresses reached 161 million by March 31, 2025, a growth of approximately 3.54% since the end of January. The ETH holding structure remained dominated by mid-to-large holders, with stable retail participation.
• ETH network active addresses and daily transaction counts remained stable. However, the average gas fee in March saw a significant decrease of over 50%, and only 3,694 ETH were burned (a 61.36% QoQ decrease), indicating a cooling of on-chain activity.

• ETH staking data showed an increase in volume but a decrease in overall value. By March 31st, the total staked ETH reached 27.67 million, a 15.54% QoQ increase.
• Aave became the top Ethereum protocol by TVL, reaching $14.3 billion. Real-World Asset (RWA) and stable yield strategies drove significant QoQ TVL growth for Sky (3.99%) and Ethena (12.24%).
• Major Layer 2 protocols generally experienced a decline in TVL, while emerging protocol Soneium stood out with an impressive 8,622% QoQ TVL growth.
• The market capitalization of stablecoins on Ethereum grew by 11.36% in Q1, maintaining a market share of over 50%. USDC demonstrated strong performance with a 25% surge in Q1, contributing significantly to the overall growth of ETH stablecoins.

• The Ethereum Pectra upgrade, combining execution and consensus layer optimizations, is scheduled for mainnet deployment in Q2 2025. It is expected to bring higher scalability, smart accounts, enhanced staking flexibility, and reduced transaction costs, positioning it as a key catalyst for future innovation and adoption on Ethereum.
  
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