Ethereum gas fees experienced a significant surge recently, triggered by the highly anticipated ERA airdrop. As reported, the claim process for the airdrop led to a spike in network activity, pushing gas fees to as high as 36.7 Gwei. The increased transaction volume resulted in substantial ETH being burned. Within a single hour, a staggering 30.73 ETH, equivalent to approximately $105,000, was destroyed due to the EIP-1559 burning mechanism. This demonstrates the intense demand and competition for block space during the airdrop. High gas fees can make interacting with decentralized applications (dApps) and executing smart contracts on Ethereum more expensive. Users often have to weigh the cost of transaction fees against the potential benefits of participating in on-chain activities. The ERA airdrop event highlights the ongoing challenge of scalability on the Ethereum network and the need for solutions like Layer-2 scaling solutions. ```