Hedera Usage Exploded 168 Percent in a Month While HBAR Fell 8: What the Strange Split Means for Your Portfolio

Hedera’s network is busier than it has been in a long time — transactions surged 168 percent over the past 30 days — yet its token HBAR fell roughly 8 percent this week. That odd mismatch between booming usage and a falling price is exactly the kind of puzzle everyday investors should understand before deciding whether HBAR deserves a spot in their portfolio.

By Jennifer Kim | October 17, 2026

The Hook: Usage Up, Price Down

On October 17, 24/7 Wall St. and Yahoo Finance both highlighted the divergence: Hedera’s network activity jumped 168 percent in 30 days, even as HBAR dropped about 8 percent over the week. Additional coverage from Pluang confirmed the same surge in transactions “despite” the token’s weak price action. In a market where Bitcoin trades near 81,500 USD and Solana around 105 USD, HBAR’s dip stands out — and so does its network growth.

Why should a regular investor care? Because in crypto, network usage and token price do not always move together — but when they split, one of them is usually wrong about the future. Figuring out which one is the whole game.

On-Chain Evidence: What a 168 Percent Surge Actually Means

Hedera is not a typical blockchain. It runs on a technology called a hashgraph — think of it as a different engine under the hood of the same car, one designed to process transactions quickly and cheaply. The network is governed by a council of major companies rather than anonymous miners, which has long been part of its pitch to enterprises.

A 168 percent surge in transactions over 30 days means the number of things happening on the network — payments, token transfers, application activity — nearly tripled compared with a month ago. That is the kind of growth chart that typically makes investors sit up and take notice, because more usage can eventually translate into more demand for the token that powers the network.

• +168 percent — Hedera network activity growth over the past 30 days, per 24/7 Wall St. and Yahoo Finance
• -8 percent — HBAR’s price move this week, over the same reporting period
• ~81,500 USD — Bitcoin’s current level, part of a broadly softer week for crypto
• ~105 USD — Solana’s current level, a common comparison point for HBAR investors

The Core Conflict: Why Did the Price Ignore the Growth?

There are a few honest explanations. First, short-term prices are driven by mood and money flows, not spreadsheets. The whole crypto market has been under pressure this week — analysts noted roughly 100 billion USD wiped from the total crypto market value as BTC, ETH and XRP slid, according to CryptoPotato’s market watch on October 17. When the tide goes out, even tokens with good news get dragged down.

Second, some network activity can come from a few large applications or automated systems rather than thousands of new human users. Transaction counts are a useful signal, but they are not the same thing as genuine grassroots adoption. Without knowing exactly who generated the surge, investors should treat it as encouraging but not conclusive.

Third, there is simple rotation. In a nervous market, investors pull money from smaller altcoins — HBAR among them — and park it in larger, more liquid assets. That can push a token’s price down even while its underlying network gets busier.

Market Implications: The “Better Buy Than Solana?” Question

The 24/7 Wall St. headline asked whether HBAR is a “better buy than Solana” — and that framing is useful, even if the answer is personal. Solana is the established high-speed network with a massive ecosystem of apps, deep liquidity and an exchange-traded fund presence in the US. Hedera is a smaller challenger whose strengths are enterprise partnerships, predictable fees and that fast hashgraph design.

The bull case for HBAR here is straightforward: if a 168 percent usage surge reflects real, sticky adoption, today’s 8 percent dip may eventually look like a discount. The bear case is equally simple: activity can be fleeting, and in crypto, usage stats have disappointed investors many times before. The market’s current verdict — a lower price on higher activity — says investors are not yet convinced.

The Verdict: Interesting Signal, Not a Green Light

If you already hold altcoins, the Hedera divergence is worth watching, not chasing. A network growing this fast while its token gets cheaper is the kind of setup that rewards patience and punishes impulse. Watch whether the transaction growth holds over the next couple of months, whether real applications and users stick around, and whether HBAR’s price starts to reconnect with its usage data. If those three line up, the story gets interesting. Until then, treat the 8 percent dip as the market’s honest opinion — it is not always right, but it is rarely silent.

The cryptocurrency market remains highly volatile. This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice.