Ethereum’s Surge in Use Linked to Spam Attacks, Researcher Warns

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A significant rise in activity on the Ethereum network could be partially fueled by “address poisoning” attacks that have become more affordable due to lower transaction fees, security researcher Andrey Sergeenkov has warned.

This caution follows data showing Ethereum’s network activity retention nearly doubled to 8 million addresses in a month, with daily transactions hitting a record of nearly 2.9 million.

Sergeenkov noted that in the week beginning January 12 alone, around 2.7 million new addresses were created—approximately 170% above typical levels—while daily transactions consistently stayed above 2.5 million.

While the surge might seem like organic growth, Sergeenkov suspects a portion stems from large-scale spam campaigns known as address poisoning. These attacks exploit low network fees by flooding the chain with small, deceptive transactions not meant for legitimate use.

The method involves sending minuscule transfers from wallet addresses designed to look nearly identical to a victim’s legitimate contacts. If a user later copies a similar-looking address from their transaction history, they may inadvertently send funds to an attacker.