Ethereum's Gas Fees Remain Low Amid Rising Blockchain Activity

According to Cointelegraph, Ethereum's blockchain activity is on the rise, yet gas fees on the network remain at historically low levels. This development suggests a more mature and scalable infrastructure capable of supporting advanced real-world applications. Currently, Ethereum transaction fees are at a mere 0.16 gwei, approximately $0.01 per transaction. For token swaps, the fees are slightly higher at $0.15, and for non-fungible token (NFT) sales, they stand at $0.27, as reported by blockchain data aggregator Milkroad. These low costs contrast sharply with previous periods of high network activity, where demand often drove fees to unsustainable levels, a major criticism of Ethereum in past cycles. The network's daily transactions have surged to 1.6 million, marking a near one-month high, a level last observed at the beginning of October before a significant $19 billion liquidation event. Active addresses have also increased, reaching a monthly peak of 695,872, according to data from the crypto intelligence platform Nansen. The persistently low gas fees follow the implementation of the Dencun and Pectra upgrades, both aimed at reducing transaction costs and enhancing throughput. The Pectra upgrade, deployed in May, has notably doubled the blob capacity of layer-2 (L2) networks, effectively reducing transaction fees on L2s by approximately 50%. This upgrade has also facilitated the offloading of more transactions from the mainnet, further decreasing costs. Ethereum's previous significant upgrade, Dencun, has also contributed to reducing L2 transaction fees and offloading more transactions from the L1. As a result, average Ethereum transaction fees have become 95% cheaper a year after its deployment on March 13, 2024, as reported by Cointelegraph. This series of upgrades underscores Ethereum's commitment to addressing past criticisms and enhancing its network's efficiency and scalability, paving the way for broader adoption and more complex use cases in the blockchain ecosystem.