Ethereum "Dust Attacks" Now Account for 11% of Total On-Chain Transactions and 26% of Daily Active Addresses

According to Cointelegraph, the number of stablecoin "dust attacks" on the Ethereum network has significantly increased after the Fusaka upgrade, currently estimated to account for 11% of Ethereum's total transaction volume and 26% of daily active addresses. Coin Metrics analyzed over 227 million USDC and USDT balance updates between November 2025 and January 2026, finding that 43% involved transfers of less than $1, and 38% were even below one cent. These transactions are described as having "no significant economic purpose other than wallet seeding." Before the Fusaka upgrade, stablecoin dust transactions accounted for about 3-5% of Ethereum transactions and 15-20% of active addresses. After the upgrade, these figures surged to 10-15% of transactions and 25-35% of active addresses, representing a 2-3 times increase. These "dust attacks" typically involve malicious actors sending stablecoins worth just a few cents from addresses that appear legitimate, tricking users into copying incorrect addresses during transactions. It has been reported that $740,000 has been lost due to address spoofing attacks.