Transaction fees over a blockchain network using the native crypto asset has been one of the crucial issues and it still remains the same. The factor of gas issue is more pinched for smart contract blockchain Ethereum network. Given the size of the network and number of projects over it, it becomes way more important for the network to keep its gas fees in control.
Recently, when the network went through the most awaited Merge upgrade, it was expected that the gas fees on Ethereum might get down way lower. However, recent data shows another story. On October 10th, Ethereum gas fees reached up to 4.75 USD per transaction, according to the data shown on bitinfocharts(dot)com.
The gas fees jumped up to 84% from its level of 2.58 USD per transaction just two days ago on October 8th. The recent average gas fees is highest since August 10th this year when it reached upto 4.78 USD. The median transfer fee on the same day was around 2.2 USD per transaction.
Meanwhile, at the time of writing, the transaction fees have witnessed a drop from last day and currently it is around 3.58 USD.
According to the data on the gas tracker of Etherscan, the top priority fee reached 0.62 USD or 27 gwei per transaction. The fee before the Merge upgrade, during August end, was around 0.34 USD or 11 gwei per transaction. Gas fees for a high-priority transfer, swap or moving of ERC20 token reached around 0.62 USD.
Average transaction fee for an NFT sale on marketplace OpenSea was 2.13 USD. While the trade on Uniswap would cost around 5.59. Gas fees on both the platforms was highest since August. It also included the transfer of ERC20 tokens like USDT or USDC stablecoin, costing 1.61 USD.
The developers boasted the Merge upgrade would decrease the gas fees on Ethereum network making the transactions and trade way more cost efficient. However, the current statistics of transaction cost does not imply the same.
In August 2022, Ethereum Foundation said the Merge upgrade to depreciate the use of contemporary consensus mechanisms of proof-of-work by transitioning to proof-of-stake. The foundation argued that the change would not bring any changes in those parameters which directly impact on capacity and throughput of the network.
Although the upgrade has not made any impact on gas fees, apparently the pace of block finalization has increased—but with a slight margin. The block was taking about 0.244 minutes for completion before the Merge. Following the upgrade, the intervals of the block were reduced by approx 17% making the time 0.201 minutes.
Steve Anderson is an Australian crypto enthusiast. He is a specialist in management and trading for over 5 years. Steve has worked as a crypto trader, he loves learning about decentralisation, understanding the true potential of the blockchain.
Source: https://www.thecoinrepublic.com/2022/10/12/ethereum-gas-fees-not-reducing-despite-the-merge/