#CryptoFees101 Ethereum: Gas fees 95% lower after the Dencun upgrade

• On March 13, 2024, the network successfully implemented Dencun, and over the year, the average swap fee fell from ~$86 to $0.39, and for NFTs to $0.65.

• YCharts data shows a decrease in average values: from 72 gwei in 2024 to 2.7 gwei in March 2025.

• As of February 26, 2025: average $0.41, a drop of almost 94% over the year - to four-year lows.

Variable commission spike - example January 2025:

• In the week from January 17 to 24, commissions rose from $1.35 to $3.85 (+185%), which coincided with a surge in volumes on Uniswap (from $2.1 billion to $4.9 billion).

• The trend triggered the migration of traders to L2 and alternative networks (Polygon +30%).

Expenditure and L2 activity:

• Ethereum Layer 1 collected $1.67 billion in fees in DeFi - the absolute leader among blockchains, followed by Base and Arbitrum with <$40 million.

• Despite low fees and record low average costs, activity in the blockchain is slowing down - the 7-day volume on February 18 fell to $3.77 billion.

Tools and tips to reduce costs:

• Effective L2 solutions (Arbitrum, Optimism, Polygon) support 'penny' transactions - it's accessible and cheap for users.

• 'Smart watches and MetaMask API' tip: you can pay for gas with USDC/USDT gas tokens via 'Gas Station', more flexibility