The long-awaited Ethreum Мerge took place on September 15 with shifting Ethereum’s existing proof-of-world consensus mechanism to a proof-of-stake model. With this major upgrade, the Ethereum network managed to significantly cut its carbon footprint and decrease its network power consumption by over 99.9%.
The BonusInsider team decided to analyse the impact of the Merge on Ethereum holders’ behaviour and whether it affects the number of transactions they make. We noticed the number of daily transactions decreased by 9% between September 15 and October 31, 2022 (57,421,667 txs) and the same period last year (52,841,636 txs). This motivated us to commission a survey to understand more about the online spending behaviour of Ethereum holders after the merge.
Between 1st and 4th of November 2022 we surveyed 1,225 Ethereum adopters to find out how they spend their coins and how many transactions per month they send. Look at the questions we asked and the answers we obtained.
The vast majority of Ethereum holders are not actively trading or using their crypto very often, as 72.9% of them send no or less than 10 transactions a month. A total of 505 people, which is more than 40% of the survey respondents, admit they send only 1 to 9 Ethereum transactions per month, while nearly 18% say they send 10 to 19 transactions. Those making the most transactions, over 20 a month, are less than 10% of all respondents, or exactly 111 Ethereum holders. Interestingly, 389 of all people, or a little over 30%, say they don’t send any transactions.
Hold Ethereum with investment purposes: 389 or 31.8%
Although experts point out that crypto isn’t ideal for investment due to its high volatility, many people still hold Ether as an investment. This group of people hope to profit from the rise in price after a certain period of time.
Speculate on the Markets: 330 or 26.9%
This group of holders use Ethereum to speculate on the markets and actively trade other crypto coins through it. They speculate on the price movements of other cryptocurrencies, or buy and sell the underlying coins. Even though it is considered a high risk activity, crypto trading is extremely popular among this group of holders.
Pay for services and shopping online 223 or 18.2%
Another important use of Ethereum is paying for services or buying products through ecommerce sites. For many people, its utility as an actual method for payments is obvious and they usually prefer to use it for paying for hosting, domain names, different IT services or to pay freelancers for work.
Buy NTFs 95 or 7.8%
Many of the cryptocurrency’s proponents use Ethereum to buy NFTs (Non-fungible tokens) since they are usually held on the Ethereum blockchain. This can be done through a major marketplace such as Coinbase, OpenSea, and Binance or in private deals without the mediation service of online platforms. Non-fungible tokens or NFTs are cryptographic tokens that exist on a blockchain. They cannot be replicated in any way, hence, they can certify ownership and authenticity.
Play P2E (play-to-earn) games 78 or 6.4%
The so-called P2E or play-to-earn games have also exploded in popularity in the past few years. They use a different model of the traditional games where you are usually required to pay in order to play. The concept behind the P2E games is simple: players collect cryptocurrencies or NFTs produced in the blockchain-based game. Popular titles right now are Calvaria, Silks, Tamadoge, and Axie Infinity.
Online gambling and betting 65 or 5.3%
Another group of Ethereum holders use their crypto to make safe and reliable deposits at gambling sites, including online casinos, sportsbooks, and fantasy sports platforms. Some websites specifically cater to crypto holders but there are also many traditional online gambling platforms that accept Ether as form of payment. Cryptocurrencies have several benefits to other payment methods – they are decentralised, so no bank would ever stop a transaction, they are extremely safe and reliable unlike card payments that can be denied sometimes, and they are almost anonymous.
Buy items in the metaverse 45 or 3.6%
Many people prefer using Ethereum to buy tokens on different metaverse platforms and use them to purchase virtual land or various other goods and services.
The metaverse, an immersive virtual world where anything is theoretically possible, is an exciting concept that is still being developed by several technology companies. You can access it through a PC or you may need a VR headset or augmented reality glasses. And usually, you need crypto to buy different items in the metaverse.
