Ethereum Transaction Fees Hit Seven-Month Low at $1.7 per Transaction on May 12
The average cost of transactions on the Ethereum network has reached its lowest point in seven months, dropping to $1.7 per transaction on May 12. This decline in fees comes as layer-2 networks gain popularity for frequent transfers. Data from BitInfoCharts shows that Ethereum’s average transaction fee fell to $1.7, a level not seen since October 2023 when the price of ETH was below $2,000.
Thanks to Ethereum’s recent Dencun upgrade, fees on layer 2 networks have also decreased significantly, making them more appealing for daily use. According to L2Fees statistics, swap token operations on major layer-2 networks now cost less than $0.5, a considerable difference from Ethereum’s mainnet where users would have to pay over $4 to swap tokens.
In another development, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has proposed a new approach to address the limitations of the current fee system through multidimensional gas pricing. Ethereum’s current model measures all computing processes – including storage, data transfer, and encryption operations – using a single metric called “gas.” Buterin argues that this method leads to inefficient use of computing power and could potentially result in the inclusion of unsafe blocks in the blockchain.
By advocating for a shift to a multidimensional gas model, Buterin believes that this approach could better reflect the network’s constraints and capabilities, ultimately boosting capacity without sacrificing resource fungibility. This proposal aims to enhance the efficiency and security of the Ethereum network while paving the way for future upgrades.