Over the past few months, fewer people have been using smart contract platforms like Ethereum, Solana, and others. This has worried many people in the crypto world, including developers and investors.
But with Ethereum’s Pectra upgrade, which went live on May 7, 2025, some experts think things might start improving.
User Activity Drops to a Record Low
Crypto expert Jamie Coutts, who helped build Bloomberg’s crypto tools, says this is the biggest drop ever in how many people are using these platforms.
He explained that daily users dropped by over 40% in just five months, which is even worse than during the 2022–2023 crypto crash.
But at the same time, other parts of the crypto world are doing well. For example, the total amount of stablecoins (cryptos like USDT or USDC that stay at $1) has reached a new record high. This shows that money is still coming into crypto — just not directly into these platforms.
Why Are Fewer People Using These Platforms?
Coutts says many users in the last bull run were fake — bots or people using multiple accounts to take advantage of rewards. When those rewards ended, those users left. Now, with those fake users gone, we’re starting to see the real picture.
Platforms that don’t have useful apps or strong use cases are struggling. If they don’t support things like cheap and fast transactions or stablecoins, they could lose value.
What Makes a Platform Worth Using Now?
Coutts believes that the smart contract platforms that will survive are the ones that help with real-life uses — like sending payments, using stablecoins, or supporting new tech like AI apps.
He says that the crypto market will now reward platforms that are:
- Fast
- Low-cost
- Easy to use
- Good for real business or money activity
Ethereum’s Upgrade Might Be a Big Help
Ethereum, the biggest smart contract platform, may be one of the few ready for this change.
Its Pectra upgrade, which went live in May 2025, made staking (locking ETH to help run the network and earn rewards) easier and safer.
Before the upgrade, people were pulling out their ETH from staking — over 1 million ETH was withdrawn. But after the upgrade was announced, over 627,000 ETH was staked again. That shows people are starting to trust Ethereum more.
Institutions May Finally Join In
Bohdan Opryshko, a top executive at Everstake, says Pectra might be the update that finally gets big companies to invest in Ethereum. That’s because it makes staking clearer and more secure, which is important for institutions that are cautious with money.
He said it’s like giving a “green light” for big, careful investors to get involved.
Pectra Also Adds Smart Wallet Features
With Pectra, Ethereum now lets wallets do smarter things — like set up automatic payments or handle stablecoins directly. This could help Ethereum become even more useful for things like:
- Online shopping
- Business transactions
- Government or financial services
Price vs. Real Activity — What’s Happening?
Even though Ethereum’s price is going up, not many people are using it heavily yet. But Coutts says that won’t last forever. He thinks serious investors will soon start choosing platforms that are actually being used for real things — not just price speculation.
He also believes a big rally could come soon, but only for platforms that do something useful in the real world — like helping people send money or run AI-powered apps.
Final Thoughts
The crypto world is changing. Fake users and short-term hype are going away. Now it’s about real value and long-term use.
Ethereum, thanks to its new upgrade, might be one of the few platforms ready for this shift.
Whether it will be enough to bring back millions of users is still uncertain — but it’s a step in the right direction.
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