ETH Network Fees Skyrocket Again As ENS Hits All-Time High

The ETH network fees skyrocket once again as the ENS airdrop hype could be driving it higher so let’s read more in our latest Ethereum news today.

The cost of using the Ethereum network surged to a new high due to the hype of the Ethereum name service airdrop. The Gas prices for layer 1 Ethereum can be described as insane right now according to Bitinfocharts the average transaction fee on ETH spiked to $63 as its second-highest level in the network history. The top came back on May 12 when the average gas price hit $70 and the current average cost of the transaction at that time is around $7.

It costs $500+ in fees to transfer $20 on the #Ethereum blockchain.

The banks are quivering in fear… pic.twitter.com/q2JIHpBKgn

— Mr. Whale (@CryptoWhale) November 10, 2021

The gas costs can vary widely depending on the transaction type so a simple ERC-20 transfer will cost less than a complex smart contract interaction. As per Etherscan, it costs about $45 to send an ETH-based token. To carry out the token swap on Uniswap Layer 1 or to add more liquidity from the DeFi protocols it can cost about $130 in gas. Crypto analyst “Mr. Whale” gave an example of the situation:

If the boost of the gas is the Ethereum Name Service airdrop that launched on November 9 and coincided with the gas spike, to claim the ENS tokens gas has to be used and since the domain holders are getting the airdrop for free, they will not mind spending it. The tokens can also be claimed up until May 4, 2022, but those that want them right now are pumping the prices.

Until Binance listed ENS a few days ago, the only way to sell them was on Uniswap and cost users hundreds of dollars in gas to do so. According to Crypto Fees, ENS generated $720 million in network fees on November 10^th and $834 million on the previous day. Registering an ETH domain name costs about $5 per year but the gas fees surged above $250 at the moment. The ETH network fees skyrocket again with ENS hitting a new all-time high during the Wednesday morning Asian session and it is now up 37% on the day.

The only good thing about the high fees for ETH holders is that more of the asset is being burnt via the EIP-1559. According to Ultrasound money, 841,000 ETH was burnt since the upgrade and at current prices, this is worth around $3.9 billion. The fee burning tracker is reporting that ENS burnt 500 ETH or $2.3 million over the past day which is far more than Metamask.