The usage of gas on the Ethereum network is approaching its maximum capacity as over $1.6 billion in daily USDT transfers regularly take place. The increased usage has resulted in Ethereum mining earning greater fees from users.
Quick take;
- The Ethereum network has been approaching its maximum capacity as gas usage increases
- Ethereum mining has earned more transaction fees recently as a result of the increased gas usage
- Increased usage of USDT on Ethereum has been one of the key drivers of the increased demand for computational power
The Ethereum network has been approaching its maximum computation capacity resulting in higher transaction fees for Ether miners. Gas, a unit to express the amount of computational power to perform tasks on the Ethereum network, has drawn close to the maximum possible usage.
Source: Glassnode & Etherscan
The transaction fees which Ethereum miners earn are determined both by the gas price users set and the amount of gas used. The rising gas usage on the network indicates both more transactions on the Ethereum network and higher computational demand in the transactions which are executed.
The seven-day average of daily transaction fees earned by Ethereum miners recently reached over $400,000. Both the increase in gas used and gas price drove the increase.
One driver of the higher demand for gas has been the growth in value stored in stablecoins on the Ethereum network. In fact, the amount of value stored in stablecoins has come close to exceeding the value stored in Ethereum.
Transactions taking place in USDT issued on Ethereum have been rising this year according to data from Etherscan.io. With over $1.6 billion in daily transactions regularly being transferred, the increased usage of USDT on Ethereum has certainly been a driver in the gas usage rise.
(Source: Etherscan.io)
