2026-01-17 10:35:05

In the past month, the number of new Ethereum users has been skyrocketing. According to on-chain data from Santiment, the average weekly new wallets reach 327,000, with a single-day peak of 393,000. The total number of non-zero wallets also hit a new high—172.9 million. This figure better illustrates the situation than just looking at price fluctuations; behind it, a wave of new retail investors is accelerating their entry.

Where does this wave come from? It’s not surprising. After the surge in Bitcoin spot ETFs, many traditional investors started to get involved in crypto assets, naturally turning their attention to Ethereum. Currently, there are nine Ethereum spot ETFs, which have absorbed over $6.7 billion in capital inflows, serving as proof. Additionally, the NFT market has recently become active again, with noticeable gains in indices. Another detail not to be overlooked is that, under the Fed’s rate cut expectations, stablecoin lending yields in DeFi have returned to the 3.7%-3.9% range, with some scenarios even surpassing 5%. This far exceeds the returns of traditional money market funds, making it highly attractive to investors. Plus, Ethereum’s technological upgrades have lowered interaction costs, reducing the barrier for new users to enter.

Interestingly, this new wave of users is much more rational compared to retail investors during the 2017 ICO boom and the 2021 DeFi craze. They tend to prefer legitimate platforms like Coinbase, with stronger risk awareness. On-chain data shows that the average balance of new wallets is not high, mostly testing the waters with small amounts. But human nature doesn’t change—once the profit effect spreads, FOMO will still pull more people in.

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RektRecovery

· 01-20 00:36

nah, seen this movie before. 32.7k new wallets weekly sounds bullish until you realize 90% gonna panic sell at first red candle. ETF inflows are just institutional window dressing while retail thinks they're early. classic vulnerability vector—confidence before the rug.

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MetaverseMortgage

· 01-19 20:09

39.3K new wallets peak in a single day? No way, is this for real? The scale of new retail investors entering this time is a bit outrageous. --- DeFi stablecoin yields 5%? Damn, it's way more enjoyable than traditional funds. No wonder everyone is rushing into Ethereum. --- FOMO is back again. The 2017 retail investors have learned their lesson this time, right? I'm skeptical. --- 67 million in spot ETF inflows. Traditional capital is really starting to accept us slowly. --- Mostly small-scale testing? That's actually a good thing, indicating that this wave of entry isn't that crazy and might have real growth potential. --- Coinbase and other mainstream platforms attracting new users? Looks like the Web3 mainstreaming is really happening. --- New users are more rational than in 2021? I don't believe it. When the profit effect kicks in, it will still be crazy. --- 39.3K new wallets in a single day. If this growth rate can really continue, the Ethereum ecosystem will be even more powerful. --- It's the same old story: DeFi yields attract people, NFT heat rises again, a cyclical repeating script. --- Playing DeFi lending under rate cut expectations, this combo is indeed very attractive. No wonder new users keep coming in.

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GateUser-cff9c776

· 01-17 11:04

32.7K new wallets/week? Once this number came out, it was truly Schrödinger's bull market—more people, but it's hard to tell whether it's institutional precise deployment or retail bottom-fishing. New users are trying Coinbase to test the waters, indicating that people have finally learned risk management, but I still bet five bucks on FOMO to come along and go all in. DeFi's 3.7% return is indeed sweet, but even Buffett would say this is a "dangerous game." Can you believe it? A peak of 393K, a total of 170 million wallets... From a traditional financial perspective, this doesn't fit any valuation model at all, yet it has become a consensus narrative in Web3. Honestly, this wave of new retail investors is more rational than the previous two rounds, but maybe they just haven't tasted the sweetness yet. Why did NFTs suddenly come back to life? Could it be that everyone has seen through the ups and downs of coin prices and started playing the "Da Vinci of the Digital Age"? It's actually a perfect storm of ETF + rate cut expectations + low gas fees. Once the supply curve loosens, explosive demand isn't surprising. It feels like this time is really different, but the word "different" has appeared too many times in crypto.

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TokenEconomist

· 01-17 11:02

Actually, let me break this down—those yield numbers are misleading if you ignore protocol emissions decay over time. The 3.7%-5% DeFi returns? That's ceteris paribus assuming zero impermanent loss scenarios, which basically never happens in practice.

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CrossChainMessenger

· 01-17 11:02

327,000 new wallets added weekly? Really? How many newbies does that mean... Maybe they were just fooled into it by ETFs. Anyway, it's cheap enough for a bottom-fishing attempt. DeFi yields hitting 5% peak? I'd rather just place a bet directly; after all, it's all gambling. Are these new users really rational this time? I think it's still FOMO causing trouble. The index increase is obvious... Just listen, and we'll talk again when it drops.

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DaoResearcher

· 01-17 11:01

From the voting data of governance proposals, this wave of new user growth is essentially the inevitable result of token economic incentives being out of balance. Wait, can you reproduce this data? I checked Santiment's API, and it doesn't quite match. DeFi yields 5%? According to the risk model in the white paper, have you considered what that implies? If the assumptions hold, it violates the optimal lending equilibrium. What about rationality? It's just FOMO with a different mask—2017's story is being replayed so simply. 327,000 new wallets—this number should exclude bots and automated wallets, otherwise its reference value is limited. It's worth noting that the inflow of funds into Coinbase spot ETF actually reflects institutional pricing of liquidity premiums, which has nothing to do with actual adoption rates.

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