Avalanche transactions top 1 million amid ERC-404 minting frenzy

Avalanche has experienced an onchain boom in recent weeks, as the 7-day moving average (7DMA) of the number of transactions on the chain reached 1 million, its highest in over a year. For context, at the beginning of May, this figure stood at just 296,000 transactions. In the span of less than two weeks, this figure more than doubled to 696,000, before a notable decline and slowdown towards the end of the month.

However, as June approached, transactions on Avalanche exploded, with the 7DMA increasing from 400,000 on May 31 to over 1 million in just two weeks. The increased activity is reflected in the 7DMA of the average transaction fee on the chain, which has doubled from 0.0035 AVAX at the beginning of May to 0.0072 AVAX at the time of writing.

However, interestingly, the 7DMA of the number of active addresses on Avalanche experienced a notable spike in May, as it grew from 40,000 to 296,000 in the first half of May. This caused Avalanche to record its highest-ever monthly figure for active addresses, totalling 3.6 million for the month of May, which is 16.5% higher than the previous monthly high of 3.09 million in December 2021. Since the early May spike, it has declined significantly, currently standing at just 68,000 at the time of writing.

Considering the spike in the number of transactions in June that was not followed by a similar spike in active addresses, it can be assumed that the spike in transactions that occurred in June has been driven by a smaller cohort transacting more frequently rather than by a fresh influx of wallets.

Regardless, the spike in activity was likely catalyzed by arena.trade, a launchpad that allows users to mint tradable ERC–404–style tokens directly from X posts using a bonding-curve mechanism. Each interaction, whether issuing or trading a token, triggers a sequence of micro-transactions, creating a cascade of fee-generating activity that has mechanically inflated Avalanche’s daily transaction count throughout June.

This is an excerpt from The Block's Data & Insights newsletter. Dig into the numbers making up the industry's most thought-provoking trends.