Ethereum has moved beyond simply "living on a story." Even in today's challenging macroeconomic environment, actual usage continues to accelerate: Ethereum network activity hit an all-time high in Q1 2026, processing approximately 200.4 million transactions—the highest single-quarter transaction volume ever recorded. This occurred against a backdrop of high macroeconomic uncertainty, risk aversion, and widespread market pessimism. Despite this, Ethereum's on-chain transaction volume has bucked the trend and grown significantly.