Ethereum transactions explode 338% in 2022

• The Ethereum network flippening Bitcoin market could remain theoretical with the latter already adopted by two countries, El Salvador and the Central African Republic, as legal tender.
• Nonetheless, the Ethereum network has gained more real-world utility with smart contracts and decentralized applications.

The Ethereum (ETH) network recorded four times higher total transactions in 2022 than the Bitcoin market. According to an on-chain study, the total transactions in the Ethereum network was about  408,541,610 in 2022 whilst Bitcoin posted approximately 93,106,378.

With more DeFi protocols including those of NFTs, the Ethereum network threatens to flip the Bitcoin market in the future. Moreover, the average transactions per day were 1,119,292 for ETH and 255,086 for BTC in 2022.

Nonetheless, the Bitcoin market continues to put on fierce competition as elaborated by monthly Google searches worldwide.  According to Google trends data, Bitcoin topped global monthly searches with approximately 28.4 million. Ethereum (ETH) came in fourth with approximately 3.84 million searches worldwide.

Interestingly, Dogecoin and Shiba Inu took the second and third positions with approximately 5.8 million and 4.4 million global monthly searches respectively.

The Ethereum network flippening Bitcoin market could remain theoretical with the latter already adopted by two countries, El Salvador and the Central African Republic, as legal tender. Nonetheless, the Ethereum network has gained more real-world utility with smart contracts and decentralized applications.

Notably, the Ethereum ecosystem has significantly been bolstered by the proof-of-stake (PoS), which was introduced through the merge event on the Beacon chain. Interestingly, an on-chain study indicates the number of Layer 2 (L2) transactions per second surpassed those on layer 1 on the Ethereum network in mid-October and has remained above it ever since.

Will the Ethereum (ETH) spike to the moon soon?

The Ethereum market has maintained its high volatility in the past 52 weeks, having ranged between $896.11 and $3,876.79. Notably, the digital asset is trading at about $1,217 today, down approximately 75 percent from its all-time high of $4,891. The ETH ecosystem has a market capitalization of approximately $148.9 billion, with a total value locked (TVL) of approximately $23.08 billion, according to data by defillama.

The cryptocurrency market is yet to recover from the FTX and FTT implosion, which has affected companies including Digital Currency Group, Gemini, and millions of individual traders. Consequently, worldwide regulators have been outraged by the loss of billions of dollars fueled by Terra Luna and FTX fallout. 

As a result, some market strategists anticipate the bear market to worsen in 2023. For instance, long-time Bitcoin critic Peter Schiff is convinced Bitcoin price will trade below $5,000 in 2023.

If #crypto investors think 2022 was a bad year wait until they get a load of 2023. Despite this year’s 65% collapse, the faithful remain optimistic that #Bitcoin will soon moon to new highs. I wonder if a 2023 Bitcoin plunge below $5K will be enough to shake #HODLer confidence.

— Peter Schiff (@PeterSchiff) December 30, 2022

Nonetheless, the crypto market has managed to shake off bear markets in the past and record over 10X in gains. As a result, ETH to $10k is highly plausible in the next few years