Ethereum hits record 3.62 million daily transactions as cheap fees supercharge address poisoning attacks

Ethereum processed a record 3.62 million transactions in a single day at the end of April, the highest figure ever recorded on the network, as the Glamsterdam upgrade slashed gas fees to fractions of a cent. But blockchain security researchers say the same cost collapse that is drawing retail users back to the base chain has made industrialised wallet attacks dramatically cheaper to execute.

The latest “Glamsterdam” network upgrade sharply reduced gas fees across the blockchain, making Ethereum transactions dramatically cheaper for everyday users. Basic transfers now cost roughly $0.004, while decentralized exchange swaps and complex smart contract interactions have fallen to around $0.07, down from nearly $1 just months ago.

The fee collapse has made Ethereum far more accessible to retail traders, gamers, NFT users, and decentralized finance participants. But researchers argue that the explosion in Ethereum transactions is not entirely organic.

Cheap Ethereum transactions open the door to mass exploitation

Cybersecurity analysts say a substantial share of the recent spike in Ethereum transactions is linked to address poisoning attacks — a deceptive scam technique designed to trick users into sending funds to fraudulent wallet addresses.

Address poisoning works by sending victims tiny token transfers or zero-value transactions that mimic familiar wallet addresses. Attackers rely on users copying addresses from transaction history without carefully verifying every character.

Blockchain security experts say Ethereum’s lower fees have made these campaigns dramatically cheaper to execute at scale.

“Reduced transaction costs lower the barrier not only for legitimate users, but also for malicious actors,” noted researchers tracking on-chain scam activity throughout 2026. Investigators estimate that address poisoning schemes have already contributed to roughly $62 million in stolen funds this year.

Historically, these scams operated on a small scale because spam campaigns were expensive. However, today’s ultra-cheap Ethereum transactions allow attackers to bombard wallets continuously with fake entries, dust transfers, and misleading token records.

Analysts say one of the most worrying developments is the industrialization of the scam economy. Address poisoning kits are now reportedly sold through Telegram channels, allowing low-skilled operators to launch automated attacks against thousands of wallets simultaneously.

Researchers at Etherscan observed that older address poisoning campaigns were largely manual and inconsistent. In contrast, the current wave of Ethereum transactions linked to scams is heavily automated and persistent.

Users across the network report seeing fake token transfers, fraudulent wallet events, and endless streams of spam transactions appearing in their wallet histories moments after conducting legitimate transfers.

Ethereum transactions reflect a major strategic shift for the network

The rise in Ethereum transactions also reflects a broader philosophical shift inside the Ethereum ecosystem itself.

For years, Ethereum developers prioritized scaling through Layer-2 networks, encouraging users to migrate activity away from the main chain due to expensive fees and congestion. Critics argued that Ethereum’s high transaction costs limited mainstream adoption and priced out smaller users.

That strategy appears to have evolved in 2026.

The Glamsterdam upgrade focused heavily on improving Layer-1 affordability, significantly lowering the cost of Ethereum transactions directly on the base chain. The result has been an immediate increase in wallet activity, token transfers, decentralized finance usage, and smart contract interactions.

Some market observers view the development as a positive turning point for the network.

Vitalik Buterin has repeatedly argued in public discussions that lowering barriers to entry remains essential for Ethereum’s long-term relevance. While Buterin has consistently supported scaling innovation, he has also emphasized the need for affordability and usability at the protocol level.

Still, the sharp rise in Ethereum transactions is exposing a new challenge: balancing accessibility with security.

Lower fees mean attackers can launch millions of spam interactions for minimal cost. What was once economically impractical has suddenly become viable.

AI-driven wallet scams add another layer of risk

Security researchers say address poisoning attacks are evolving beyond basic spam campaigns.

More advanced threats are now emerging through AI-assisted workflows and malicious plugins capable of intercepting copied wallet addresses. These tools can silently replace legitimate crypto addresses with attacker-controlled alternatives, making manual verification increasingly difficult.

In some reported cases, victims believed they had carefully checked addresses before sending funds, only to discover malware had altered copied wallet strings behind the scenes.

The rapid increase in Ethereum transactions creates ideal conditions for these attacks because users are interacting with wallets more frequently and processing larger volumes of transfers.

On-chain analysts also note that poisoning attacks have become highly competitive. Multiple scam operators often target the same wallets simultaneously, especially addresses with visible balances and active histories.

Tracking data from gas-burning contracts shows that while only a handful of major operators currently dominate visible campaigns, many smaller attackers are running parallel operations in the background.

Wallet histories for active Ethereum users are now increasingly cluttered with fake entries, dust amounts of stablecoins, and suspicious token transfers that obscure legitimate activity.

Transparency remains Ethereum’s greatest strength, and weakness

The current spike in Ethereum transactions highlights a deeper tension within public blockchain systems.

Ethereum’s transparency has long been celebrated as a cornerstone of decentralization and trustlessness. Every transfer, token movement, and wallet interaction is publicly visible and permanently recorded on-chain.

But that same openness is increasingly being weaponized.

Scammers can easily identify high-value wallets, monitor transaction behavior, and launch targeted address poisoning campaigns against active users. The transparency that powers decentralized finance is simultaneously creating new attack surfaces for criminals.

Security professionals are urging users to avoid copying wallet addresses directly from transaction histories and to rely instead on wallets with anti-phishing protections and address verification tools.

Experts say the attacks ultimately depend on human error and scale. While many scams only steal small amounts of crypto, a single successful attack against a high-net-worth wallet can yield enormous profits.

For Ethereum, the surge in Ethereum transactions is therefore a double-edged sword. The network is finally achieving the affordability and activity levels many advocates long envisioned, but the increase in malicious activity threatens to undermine confidence just as mainstream adoption accelerates.

As Ethereum transactions continue breaking records, the network’s next challenge may not be scaling usage — but protecting users from the risks that come with it.