The Ethereum ($ETH) network has been adding nearly 130,000 new unique addresses per day, as on-chain activity for the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization continues to grow.

According to data from the Ethereum blockchain explorer Etherscan first stained Per Finbold, unique addresses on the Ethereum network increased from 217.6 million at the beginning of the year to approximately 221.3 million at the time of writing, representing a gain of around 130,000 per day.

On a public blockchain like Ethereum’s, an address is a unique identifier that allows users to send and receive transactions, but it does not represent a single user, as a user can create multiple addresses for free. Some privacy advocates advise users to create an address for each transaction.

The network completed a major upgrade called the Merge in September 2022, in which the Beacon Chain merged with the Ethereum mainnet to move from a Proof-of-Work to a Proof-of-Stake consensus algorithm. Now he is considering another major upgrade, called Shanghai.

The Shanghai update is set to allow network validators with Ethereum staked on-chain to withdraw their funds with the interest they have accumulated over time. Staking ETH has been locked up in the network since staking deposits were first made available with the Beacon Chain.

As CryptoGlobe reported, the Ethereum core developers have set March 2023 as tentative date for Shanghaimeaning that Ethereum participants could soon withdraw their staked assets on the network.

In particular, with Shanghai approaching and the price of Ethereum rising, on-chain data has shown that shark addresses have been “aggressively” accumulating the cryptocurrency

Data from on-chain analytics firm Santiment shows that wallets with between $100 and $10,000 ETH, equivalent to $162,000 to $16.2 million at the time of writing, have been hoarding the cryptocurrency since early November, to the point that around 3000 new shark addresses were created. .

According to the firm, a total of 48,556 shark addresses now exist, marking the highest level on record since February 2021. It’s worth noting that shark addresses are associated with large holders, with the largest cohort known as the whale cohort.

As reported, a recent survey by CoinShares revealed that 60% of the 43 fund managers surveyed, who have a combined $390 billion in assets under management, believe that Ethereum has the most promising growth prospects in 2023.

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