Ethereum address poisoning attacks surge: The cost of the significant fee reduction after Fusaka upgrade

TokenSherpa · 2026-01-20T05:02:13+00:00

Ethereum network activity has surged to 2.7 million new addresses, with daily transaction volumes exceeding 2.5 million. However, there is a hidden risk of address poisoning attacks behind this growth. The significant drop in fees has reduced the cost of spam attacks, resulting in over 116 victims losing more than $740,000. This phenomenon reflects the contradiction between increased usability due to lower transaction fees and the reduced cost of attacks.

TokenSherpa

2026-01-20 05:02:13

Abstract generation in progress

【BitPush】Ethereum’s recent network activity has exploded, with the number of new addresses surging to 2.7 million, a 170% increase compared to normal levels. Daily transaction volume has also exceeded 2.5 million. It looks very prosperous, but there are actually big problems behind the scenes.

According to security analysis, this abnormal activity is most likely caused by address poisoning attacks. The Fusaka network upgrade in December significantly reduced transaction fees by over 60%, which directly caused the cost of large-scale spam attacks to plummet. Attackers now have more motivation to carry out these activities.

Already, 3.8 million addresses have been affected in their first transaction, accounting for 67% of new addresses. More painfully, it has been confirmed that 116 victims have suffered losses due to dust assets of this kind, totaling over $740,000. The problem isn’t small, but it’s not extremely severe either.

On the other hand, this also reflects a phenomenon: while lowering network fees improves usability, it also reduces attack costs. Finding a balance between the two still requires further exploration.

ETH-3.94%

View Original

This page may contain third-party content, which is provided for information purposes only (not representations/warranties) and should not be considered as an endorsement of its views by Gate, nor as financial or professional advice. See Disclaimer for details.

13 Likes

Reward
13
4
Repost
Share

Comment

0/400

IfIWereOnChain

· 8h ago

Lower fees ended up leading to more exploitation; this deal is a big loss.

View OriginalReply0

AirdropHunter9000

· 9h ago

The transaction fee decreased, but I was still exploited. This is really ironic...

View OriginalReply0

OffchainWinner

· 9h ago

Wow, the transaction fees are cheaper but it has become a hacker's paradise. That's really ironic. This poisoning attack is really outrageous, affecting 3.8 million addresses. I just want to know if my wallet got hit. Cheap is cheap, but you still need to watch out for dust assets, or you'll lose everything. The Fusaka upgrade was supposed to be a good thing, but these trash investors ruined it. Truly disappointing.

View OriginalReply0

Rekt_Recovery

· 9h ago

yo ngl, lower fees always hit different... but this dust attack thing is literally the trading version of getting liquidated on 100x leverage, except you didn't even sign up for it lmao

Reply0