We look at how Ethereum’s on-chain economic activity (GDP) has changed over time to understand how sustainable its growth really is. By analyzing the dollar value of assets settled across key market sectors, we examine how the network’s usage has shifted toward more sustainable, utility-driven flows. Adding GDP composition to core L1 metrics like fees, transactions, and TVL provides a richer, time-comparable lens on the direction and quality of on-chain demand.

Importance of GDP

Recent price activity and ETF flow are grabbing headlines, but they don’t capture the full picture. To understand Ethereum’s real utility and economic health, it’s more instructive to look at on-chain GDP.

• GDP: The total dollar value of assets settled or transacted on the network.

This metric reflects real usage: from DeFi trades and stablecoin transfers to NFT sales and Layer 2 settlements. Unlike fees, which can be skewed by network congestion, spam activity, or protocol changes like EIP-1559, The Merge, and blob-enabled rollups, GDP offers a more consistent lens on economic throughput. 

By tracking how this activity evolves over time, we can assess whether Ethereum is simply riding a speculative wave or maturing into a foundational financial and computational layer.

The above shows ETH price overlaid with on-chain GDP, and at first glance, the two appear closely linked. But digging deeper, it becomes clear that Ethereum’s economic activity today is structurally very different from the last cycle. The composition of GDP has shifted away from short-lived speculative bursts toward more sustained flows in areas like stablecoins, L2s, and staking, signaling a maturing, utility-driven network beneath the headline price.

Market sector

Looking at Ethereum’s GDP by market sector reveals not just how much activity is happening, but where economic value is being created. It highlights which parts of the ecosystem are gaining real traction, whether that’s DeFi, NFTs, stablecoins, or Layer 2s. Over time, this sectoral breakdown shows how Ethereum’s economy is evolving: from the speculative surges of 2021 to today’s more utility-led flows like staking, bridging, and real-world asset settlement. Tracking these shifts helps distinguish hype from structural growth, a critical lens for assessing long-term network relevance.

NFTs are a prime example where taking a view on the sustainability of the underlying driver helps in understanding the long-term GDP of an L1. Their boom in 2021 briefly pushed Ethereum’s economic activity and gas fees to all-time highs, but much of that surge proved short-lived. This illustrates why it’s crucial to assess not just the level of on-chain GDP, but the durability of what’s driving it. In the long run, sustainable GDP, anchored in recurring, utility-based use cases, is what supports consistent demand for blockspace and underpins the economic value of the network itself.

Ethereum’s monthly on-chain GDP is ~$173M, notably higher than the ~$134M recorded during ETH’s price peak in November 2021. But the composition has fundamentally shifted. 

Today, over 62% of activity comes from stablecoin issuers, up from just 2.3% at the previous peak, while lending (13.2%) and liquid staking (11.5%) have also grown their share. In contrast, speculative categories like NFT marketplaces and DEXs, which made up a combined 64% at that time, now contribute under 8%. This rebalancing suggests that even though ETH remains ~21% below its all-time price, the underlying economic activity is more utility-driven and structurally sustainable.

In short, we think that a clearer understanding of on-chain GDP and its composition is a powerful complement to metrics like fees, transaction volumes, and user activity, offering deeper insight into the sustainability of on-chain demand.