The Cost Of Ethereum Network Transactions Is Increasingly Expensive, Investors Choose To Revoke

The cost of Ethereum transactions has increased amid the popularity of PEPE. (Photo; Doc. Quanstamp)

In recent months, the crypto industry has experienced little onchain activity compared to the bullish market in the 2020/2021 period. However, fans of the recent PEPE meme coin that suddenly emerged made crypto activity increase.

PEPE is a meme coin developed on the Ethereum network. On the other hand, Ethereum has the potential to become a blockchain that its competitors can exceed. The reason is, transaction fees or gas fees on the Ethereum network are getting higher, especially as PEPE meme coin holders leave the market. The transaction fee is also the cause of retail investors staying away from PEPE.

According to a DailyCoin report, over the past few weeks, amid the excitement of PEPE, the average Ethereum gas fee price has reached an unprecedented level since May 2022. Since PEPE was launched on April 18, the average gas fee price has become 74 gwei. On May 5, the average gas price reached 155 gwei, according to data from Etherscan.

Some users pay hundreds of dollars for just one transaction. One user even paid 64 ETH in a gas fee for one transaction, which is equivalent to $120,000. Even though PEPE has fallen 60 percent in recent days, gas costs remain high and currently fluctuating between 145-190 gwei.

The increasing gas fee on the Ethereum network was also commented on by the crypto community on Twitter. One user admitted that he had to pay a gas fee of 100 US dollars (Rp1.4 million) to buy a token worth 10 US dollars (Rp147,000).

Other users joked and indicated the only way to pay for a high Ethereum gas fee was to sell their left kidney. A Cardano community member mocked Ethereum's high fees and satirely asked if Ethereum users had ever heard of Cardano, a blockchain at a transaction fee much lower than Ethereum.