Ethereum Network Fees Surge 153% in 30 Days, While Arbitrum Daily Transactions Outpace ETH Following Shapella Upgrade

Ethereum network fees have experienced a significant upswing following the implementation of the Shapella upgrade on April 12th. In the last 30 days, onchain fees have soared by over 153%, from a prior rate of $4.65 per transfer to a current average of $11.80 per transaction. The data highlights a substantial surge in the costs associated with Ethereum network transactions, indicating a notable increase in onchain activity.

Onchain Fees on Ethereum Network Soar by 153% in a Month, While Arbitrum’s Daily Transactions Exceed ETH Post-Shapella Upgrade

Over the past month, Ethereum network fees have witnessed a material surge, with the cost of onchain transfers surging from $4.65 per transaction on April 1, to an average of 0.0064 ether or $11.80 per transfer at present. The data reveals a staggering 153% increase in the average fees charged by the Ethereum network in just 30 days. Moreover, even the median-sized protocol fees on the network have experienced a significant upswing, soaring 157% higher from $2.13 per transfer on the first of April to the current rate of 0.003 ether or $5.49 per median-sized transaction.

The upsurge in transaction fees on the Ethereum network has been particularly noteworthy since the implementation of the Shapella upgrade on April 12. From that day until April 22, the network processed more than one million transactions daily, with the exception of April 16. Since then, Ethereum’s transaction volumes have remained below the million mark, averaging between 800,000 and 900,000 transactions per day. Amid the increase in fees over the past 30 days, the cost of certain transactions on the Ethereum network remains relatively high, with an Opensea sale incurring $9.93 per transfer, and a trade on Uniswap costing $25.58 per transaction. Sending an ERC20 token, on the other hand, requires $7.50 per transaction.

Interestingly, since the implementation of the Shapella hard fork, the Ethereum network layer two (L2) scaling solution, Arbitrum, has been surpassing the network’s transactions on a daily basis. According to data collected from Dune Analytics, Arbitrum has processed between 1.1 million to 1.5 million transactions per day since Shapella, while the L2 competitor Optimism has recorded between 240,000 to 550,000 transactions per day since the Ethereum upgrade. Moreover, the average transaction fee on Arbitrum stands at $0.368 per transfer, while the average fee on Optimism is slightly higher at $0.682 per transaction.

Over the course of the last 14 days, ethereum’s (ETH) market worth has tumbled by 12.7% against the U.S. dollar. However, the second-largest digital asset in terms of market capitalization remains 1.4% higher than it was in the previous 30-day period. At present, ETH’s market value stands at $222.7 billion, accounting for a substantial 18.097% of the cryptocurrency economy’s total value, which amounts to $1.23 trillion on May 1, 2023.

What are your thoughts on the recent surge in Ethereum network fees? Share your opinions and insights in the comments section below.