Majority of Ethereum Layer 2 See 10X Drop in Gas Fee After Dencun Upgrade

The much-awaited Ethereum Dencun upgrade went live on Wednesday, March 13, with its successful deployment to the Ethereum mainnet. Within less than 24 hours of it going live, the Ethereum-based Layer 2 platforms are already seeing a major drop in gas fees.

L2 Network Transaction Fees Plunge Post Ethereum Dencun Upgrade

Following the recent Dencun upgrade and the integration of EIP-4844, significant reductions in transaction fees are witnessed across various Layer 2 (L2) networks. During the hour spanning from 9:00 to 10:00 (UTC+8), notable drops in average and median transaction fees are observed across multiple platforms.

Optimism records an average transaction fee of $0.05, with a median fee of $0.0038. Base network reports an average transaction fee of $0.064 and a median fee of $0.0008. Arbitrum network’s average transaction fee stands at $0.5, with a median fee of $0.3553. Meanwhile, zkSync Era showcases an average transaction fee of $0.161 and a median fee of $0.0936.

The Dencun upgrade notably impacts the cost associated with zkSync Era’s sequencer usage, particularly in the utilization of Calldata. Previously priced at 0.11 ETH, the cost has plummeted to 0.013 ETH, marking an approximate 88% decrease, as per data on Dune Analytics.

Coinbase’s Head of Development, Jesse Pollak, took to Twitter to announce significant fee reductions within the Coinbase L2 Network Base. Formerly priced at $0.31, the transaction fee has dramatically decreased to $0.0005, reflecting the broader trend of cost alleviation across L2 networks following recent upgrades and protocol implementations.

A Gamechanger for the Ethereum Ecosystem

In a recent statement, independent Ethereum educator Anthony Sassano highlights the significance of the introduction of blobs to the Ethereum ecosystem. Sassano suggests that blobs have been deployed at a near-optimal moment, serving as a catalyst to invigorate the Ethereum network precisely when it requires a boost.

This injection of what Sassano terms a “stimulus” is poised to coincide with the imminent influx of millions of new users onto the blockchain. This will provide them an opportunity to engage with Ethereum without encountering exorbitant transaction fees.

Although gas prices on blob-enabled Layer 2 (L2) solutions are currently low after Dencun upgrade, Sassano anticipates a gradual uptick in fees as the demand for blobs increases over time. However, Sassano asserts that such behavior is to be expected and underscores the notion that the implementation of EIP-4844 merely marks the initial phase.

Sassano suggests that Blobs represent a dynamic and evolving primitive within the Ethereum ecosystem, forming an integral component of the broader roadmap for scalability known as danksharding. Sassano said that the Ethereum developers will be gearing up for the next upgrade – Pectra!