Ethereum revenue drops 44% despite record-high price
03.09.2025
In August, Ethereum faced a significant revenue decline: the amount allocated to ETH holders through the fee burn mechanism dropped to around $14.1 million, down from $25.6 million in July – a 44% decrease. This occurred while ETH’s price surged, reaching an all-time high of $4,957 on August 24 after a 240% rally since April.
Total network fees also fell – from $49.6 million in July to about $39.7 million in August, marking a 20% decline. This downward trend is partly explained by the Dencun upgrade in March 2024, which significantly reduced transaction costs for Ethereum layer-2 (L2) networks built on top of the main chain. While this improved scalability, it also lowered revenue for the base layer (layer-1).
The decline sparked debate over Ethereum’s financial fundamentals. Critics see it as a sign of weakening strength, while supporters argue Ethereum should be valued as Web3 infrastructure, not solely by its fee income.
Institutional interest in Ethereum continues to grow. In September, advocacy firm Etherealize raised $40 million to promote ETH adoption among public companies. Bitwise’s Matt Hougan noted that if a company stakes $1 billion worth of ETH and earns staking rewards, it’s attractive, since investors are accustomed to yield-bearing assets.
Meanwhile, Messari analysts described the revenue drop as alarming, even suggesting “Ethereum is dying.” Still, many point to the network’s resilience – a record number of active addresses, rising stablecoin usage, and L2 activity. According to Growthepie and YCharts, as of August 30, daily active addresses exceeded 552,000 – up 21% year-over-year.
Conclusion: Ethereum is undergoing a revenue model shift – while fee income declines, staking, institutional adoption, and network activity are playing an increasingly important role. The network’s value drivers are becoming more decentralized and systemic.