Higher activity, lower fees: Here’s what December’s onchain data shows

Onchain data shows activity holding up on Ethereum, Polygon, Arbitrum, and Avalanche even as fee revenue declines across the crypto sector.

Several of the biggest blockchain networks handled more transactions in December even as the fees users paid fell, a sign that recent scaling upgrades are increasing capacity and easing competition for block space, according to data compiled by Nansen.

Data from Nansen showed that Bitcoin, Tron, Ethereum, Arbitrum, Polygon, Avalanche, and The Open Network (TON) recorded month-over-month increases in transactions, while fee revenue declined sharply across the same period. 

Ethereum transactions increased by 16% despite a 57% decline in fee revenue. Polygon showed a similar divergence, with transaction counts jumping 82% while fees dropped 47%. Arbitrum and Avalanche also showed a very notable transactions-up, fees-down pattern.

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