DeFi Analytics 17th April 2025

Chain Fee Generation

Daily Fees Generated across Ethereum & Solana - Solana’s daily fee generation has regained its lead over Ethereum, widening the gap each day. While Solana’s fees show a clear upward trend this week, Ethereum’s remain relatively flat. Solana ranged between $1.08M and $1.57M which is more than double Ethereum’s $437K to $756K. The growing divide was most evident on April 16th, when Solana recorded its highest fee day of the week and  Ethereum hit its lowest, resulting in a difference of over $1M fees generated.

Daily Fees Generated across Ethereum & Solana

Ethereum Gas Market

ETH Gas Fees - Hourly average gas fees burned per block also experienced a downturn this week, returning back to the lower levels seen throughout the end of March. A small peak in demand can be seen around April 16th which pushed the gas fees burnt per block to just over 0.1 ETH, however this is minimal in the wider picture.  Similarly, the cost to transfer ETH (21,000 Gas) remains low.

Hourly Average Gas Fees Burnt per Block

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

ETH Blob Gas - Hourly average Blob gas usage remains steady, fluctuating around the 400K mark. The hourly average of excess Blob gas per block dipped on April 13th after a period of elevated levels but quickly rebounded, spiking to 80M, comparable to highs seen earlier in the month.

‍Hourly Average Blob Gas Usage per Ethereum Block

Hourly Average Excess Blob Gas per Ethereum Block

Beacon Chain Balance

Beacon Chain - Beacon Chain balance plateaued this week, with deposits peaking midweek followed by a wave of withdrawals, pushing the end-of-week balance lower. As shown in the timeseries, the balance has ranged between 34.4M and 34.6M ETH throughout April.

Beacon Chain Summary

Beacon Chain Timeseries

Beacon Chain - The Beacon Chain continues to show a strong net outflow of validators. This is driven by elevated validator withdrawals (Withdrawal Possible) and sustained exit activity, including many voluntary exits (Exited Unslashed, Active Exiting). Interest in joining the network has declined, with fewer validators entering the queue (Pending Queued, Pending Initialized). Slashing events remain minimal, highlighting a stable security environment despite the exits (Exited Slashed, Active Slashed). A large number of validators have already exited and are now awaiting withdrawal of their staked ETH (Withdrawal Possible). The persistent exit activity includes validators leaving without penalties, indicating a voluntary shift rather than forced exits (Exited Unslashed).

Beacon Chain Validator States

Uniswap V3

Uniswap V3 Hourly Volumes  - Arbitrum

Uniswap V3 - Arbitrum’s hourly volumes stayed below $100M this week, reflecting levels typical of past periods of stable activity. This is mirrored in hourly transaction counts, which moved sideways, ranging between approximately 4,000 and 9,000.

Uniswap V3 Hourly Transaction Count  - Arbitrum

Liquidations

Aggregate Liquidations across Aave & Compound - Liquidations remained minimal throughout the week as BTC spot price steadily recovered losses and moved upward. This week, BTC has comfortably traded within the $85K range, levels comparable to those seen before the early April price plunge.

Ethereum’s Pectra Upgrade

Ethereum’s Pectra Upgrade - Ethereum’s upcoming Pectra upgrade is poised to have a meaningful impact on DeFi activity and network dynamics. With Ethereum Improvement Proposals (EIPs) that aim to enhance network scalability, staking efficiency, and user experience, the upgrade introduces structural changes that could shift key DeFi metrics in the weeks after implementation.

For a deeper dive into the technical improvements and broader market implications of Pectra, including insights on validator changes and blob space adjustments, read our full Ethereum upgrade report here.