ethereum has seen a price surge to $3,600, resulting in a substantial increase in gas fees amid increased network traffic.
According EtherscanGas fees exceeded 174 gwei at midday on Monday, hitting merchants with substantial costs for transactions within the ethereum ecosystem.
The rise in rates has had a notable impact on various activities. For example, completing a typical nft transaction on ethereum (eth) cost users more than $372.29 during peak hours on Monday.
<img decoding="async" width="970" height="396" src="https://crypto.news/app/uploads/2024/03/ETH_1D_graph_coinmarketcap-1.jpg” alt=”ethereum Hits $3.6K, Gas Fees Soar – 1″/>
Similarly, ethereum token swaps and lending transactions experienced prohibitive costs, reaching over $220 and $186, respectively. Bridging funds to another blockchain averaged over $70 in transaction fees.
Uniswap, a key player in the ethereum ecosystem, was identified as the largest gas guzzler, with over $4.2 million worth of eth burned in transactions in a single day. The fee increase coincides with significant increases in the value of cryptocurrencies and NFTs, with ethereum reaching a milestone of $3,500 for the first time since early 2022 and a CryptoPunks nft selling for over $16 million in eth.
The moment precedes ethereum's Dencun upgrade, which aims to reduce transaction costs through proto-danksharding. Starting March 13, this update is expected to dramatically reduce gas rates, and several Tier 2 developers suggested it could make such rates nearly obsolete.
“We are going to enter a world where most users simply will not experience gas at all,” said David Silverman, vice president of product at Polygon Labs, indicating a future in which the cost of transactions on ethereum could be significantly minimized.
