Ethereum processed about 1.74 million transactions on 5 August, the highest single-day total since its January 2024 record and above the previous May 2021 peak, according to data compiled by The Block and Etherscan. The figure is only 11 percent shy of the all-time high of 1.96 million transactions set on 14 January 2024. Analysts say the burst of activity is being driven largely by stablecoin transfers in Tether and USDC and heavier trading on decentralised exchange Uniswap. The launch of several spot Ether exchange-traded funds last month has also pulled fresh liquidity onto the network. Regulatory tailwinds are helping as well. Market participants point to the recent passage of the GENIUS Act, which provides a federal framework for dollar-pegged tokens, as boosting confidence among institutional users and developers. Despite the on-chain momentum, Ether was little changed in price terms, trading around $3,900 on Wednesday afternoon and still struggling to decisively clear the $4,000 level. Bitcoin briefly reclaimed $117,000, underscoring the broader recovery in digital-asset markets. While higher transaction counts can translate into increased fee revenue and network security, analysts caution that previous spikes have sometimes been short-lived once speculative fervour cooled.