Ethereum closed the fourth quarter with a sharp rebound in developer activity across the network.
More than 8.7 million smart contracts were created and published, setting a new quarterly record.
Data from Token Terminal showed the surge followed two relatively subdued quarters earlier this year.
The rebound marked a decisive return of onchain construction after a period of slower growth.
Analysts said the increase reflected organic demand rather than short-term incentive programmes.
Growth was linked to real-world asset tokenisation, stablecoin issuance, and infrastructure development.
Ether’s price lagged the broader crypto market despite rising technical activity on the network.
Contract deployment signals developers committing code, capital, and long-term assumptions to Ethereum.
Market observers note similar past surges often preceded higher user activity and fee growth.
Developers typically choose networks based on liquidity, security, and long-term economic viability.
Token Terminal said that “Ethereum is quietly becoming the global settlement layer.”
Ether briefly traded near $5,000 earlier this year before a sharp marketwide reversal.
Since October’s liquidation event, ETH has hovered around the $3,000 level.
Competition among layer-one blockchains has intensified across the digital asset sector.
Solana continues to prioritise high throughput, while Avalanche promotes customisable subnets.
BNB Chain remains closely linked to liquidity from centralised exchange activity.
Despite competition, Ethereum dominates capital-intensive sectors such as asset tokenisation.
Researchers at RedStone called Ethereum the “institutional standard” for tokenisation.
Stablecoin settlement remains concentrated on Ethereum, reinforcing its infrastructure role.
The Q4 surge suggests developers are increasingly deliberate in choosing Ethereum to settle value.
At the time of reporting, Ethereum price was $2,967.48.