DeFi Analytics 16th May 2025

Chain Fee Generation

Daily Fees Generated across Ethereum & Solana - Daily fee generation surged alongside Ethereum's rally, underlining increased DeFi engagement  and heightened trading activity during volatile market movements. From May 8th to May 14th, Ethereum saw daily fee generation consistently above $2M. However, as the rally tapered towards the end of the week, fee generation also declined, with figures dropping to an average of $1.5M on May 14th and 15th.

Despite Ethereum hitting new monthly highs in fee generation, Solana once again continued to outperform, raising the bar with a new peak on May 13th with nearly $3.4M in daily fees. Its consistent fee generation above $1.5M throughout the week highlights the network's stability and growing dominance in the space. Even as Ethereum’s momentum tapered off, Solana maintained its lead, cementing its position as the top fee-generating blockchain between the two this week.

Daily Fees Generated across Ethereum & Solana

Ethereum Gas Market

ETH Gas Fees - Following a spike in on-chain demand post-Pectra in tandem with the ETH rally, fees remained elevated following a long period of minimal demand. The cost to transfer ETH (21,000 Gas) spiked to $1.15 and also remains elevated.

Hourly Average Gas Fees Burnt per Block

Hourly Average Cost to Transfer ETH (21,000 Gas)

ETH Blob Gas - The Pectra upgrade increased the blob count per block from 6 blobs to 9 blobs and the target range from 3 blobs to 6 blobs. Hourly average blob gas usage increased around 25%, now trending at 500k as DeFi activity increased with the crypto rally. However, excess blob gas has become negligible, as all blob gas data now fits within the target range for one block.

‍Hourly Average Blob Gas Usage per Ethereum Block

Hourly Average Excess Blob Gas per Ethereum Block

Beacon Chain Balance

Beacon Chain - The Beacon Chain saw a net increase in balance, reaching nearly 34.6M as positive sentiment around ETH continues. Overall, deposits outweighed withdrawals, despite a large single-day withdrawal of approximately 40k ETH on May 14th.

Beacon Chain Summary

Beacon Chain Timeseries

Beacon Chain - Pectra has seen the Beacon Chain enter a phase of intensified validator exits, a possible result of the ability to consolidate a higher number of ETH tokens into a single validator. Since May 7th, there has been a sharp and sustained rise in validators actively leaving the network (Active Exiting), leading to a significant increase in the number of validators preparing for final withdrawal (Withdrawal Possible). The majority of these departures continue to be voluntary, as reflected by the strong presence of validators exiting without penalties (Exited Unslashed). This trend marks the largest exit wave observed in recent weeks.

At the same time, interest in entering the network has remained relatively flat, with only a minimal increase in new validators joining (Pending Initialized).

Beacon Chain Validator States

Uniswap V3

Uniswap V3 Hourly Volumes  - Arbitrum

Uniswap V3 - Hourly volumes peaked to $180M on May 9th and 10th at the height of the recent crypto rally and demand remains elevated. Hourly transaction counts also spiked to 10k, capturing the increased demand but overall remains in a stable range between 4-6k as seen through the month.

Uniswap V3 Hourly Transaction Count  - Arbitrum

Liquidations

Aggregate Liquidations across Aave & Compound - Aave users continue to face liquidations, albeit on a smaller scale. BTC's spot price remained above $100k this week, staying rangebound with minimal volatility.