Ethereum has recently recorded a sharp rise in on-chain activity, but security analysis suggests the surge may not be entirely organic. A growing body of evidence points to address poisoning attacks exploiting lower transaction costs as a potential driver behind the increase.
Over the past month Ethereum’s active address count climbed to nearly 8 million, while daily transactions reached a record high of about 2.9 million. In the week beginning Jan. 12 alone, roughly 2.7 million new addresses were created, representing a 170% jump above normal levels. Daily transactions during that period consistently exceeded 2.5 million.
According to security research, this unusual activity may be linked to mass dusting campaigns that became cheaper after a December network upgrade significantly reduced gas fees. Network fees dropped by more than 60% in the weeks following the update, lowering the cost of large-scale spam activity.
Address poisoning works by sending tiny “dust” transactions from wallet addresses that closely resemble legitimate ones. These false entries appear in transaction histories, increasing the risk that users copy the wrong address when sending funds. Analysis of wallets receiving less than $1 in their first stablecoin transfer helped identify likely “dust distributor” addresses.
Some of these addresses have sent dust to over 400,000 wallets, with more than $740,000 stolen from at least 116 victims so far.
The findings highlight how reduced fees can unintentionally amplify security risks, reinforcing the need to balance scalability with strong user protection mechanisms on the Ethereum network.
Disclaimer
This content is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial, investment, or legal advice. Cryptocurrency trading involves risk and may result in financial loss.