Ethereum Gas Fees Hit Five-Year Low, Sparking Price Rebound Speculation
Ethereum Gas Fees Drop – Earlier this week, Ethereum’s gas fees dropped to a five-year low, a development that some analysts attribute to users and applications shifting to newer, more efficient blockchains. Analyst Ryan Lee from Bitget Research suggests that this decline in fees could be a precursor to a price rebound for ETH, citing historical data that shows a correlation between low gas fees and subsequent price increases.
Correlation Between Low Gas Fees and ETH Price Rebounds
“Every time ETH gas fees drop to rock bottom, it often signals a price bottom in the mid-term,” Lee noted in a report to CoinDesk. “ETH prices tend to strongly rebound after this cycle, and when this moment coincides with an interest rate cut cycle, the market’s wealth effect is full of possibilities.”
Gas Fees Dip to Unprecedented Lows
The term “gas” refers to the cost a user must pay to execute a transaction on the Ethereum network. Earlier this week, fees dipped as low as 0.6 gwei, with low-priority transactions costing just 1 gwei or lower—an uncommon occurrence in recent years. This represents a significant drop of over 95% from the 83.1 gwei levels seen in March when the network experienced a surge in activity.
Migration to Other Blockchains and the Impact of Dencun Upgrade
The decrease in fees is likely due to reduced demand for Ethereum block space and a growing preference for using applications on other blockchains, such as Solana and Layer 2 solutions. Lee explained that the migration of users during “meme season” and decentralized application (Dapp) interactions to these faster and cheaper blockchains, along with the long-awaited Dencun upgrade, have improved network efficiency and reduced gas fees.
Dencun Upgrade and Ethereum’s Competition with Solana
The Dencun upgrade, which includes two major updates from March, changed how transactions are processed and validated on the Ethereum network. Since July, the Solana-based application Pump has, on several occasions, generated more fees in a single 24-hour period than the entire Ethereum network, most recently on August 13.
Impact on ETH Supply: Lower Fees, Higher Supply
Meanwhile, the lower amount of ETH being burned due to decreased fees means that the token’s supply is starting to increase. Data shows that nearly 16,000 ETH, equivalent to about $42 million at current prices, was added to Ethereum’s total supply over the past week, setting the supply on track to grow by 0.7% this year.
Mixed Implications for Ethereum’s Future
This situation presents a mixed picture for Ethereum: while the lower fees might indicate reduced demand for the network, the potential for a price rebound could be an encouraging sign for investors keeping a close eye on market conditions and broader economic factors.
Leave a comment