According to a MarsBit market analysis report, Ethereum’s first quarter of 2026 was marked by a “lower fees for larger scale” pattern. The report said Ethereum reached all-time highs in user count, transaction count and throughput, showing that the network handled a larger scale of activity in a lower-fee environment.
Lower Fees and Diverging Metrics
At the same time, the report listed several indicators that declined quarter over quarter, including transaction fees, TVL, transaction volume and market capitalization. As presented in the report, Ethereum’s Q1 performance was not a one-dimensional expansion story, but a mix of rising network usage and weaker readings across several value-related metrics.
The report also said Ethereum’s core positioning is shifting from a DeFi public chain toward a global financial settlement layer. It stated that Ethereum holds a leading position in stablecoins, tokenized funds and commodities, while institutions including BlackRock and JPMorgan are accelerating their entry and helping push tokenized assets into implementation.