The Ethereum gas consumption landscape is changing significantly as Non-Fungible Token (NFT) marketplaces no longer dominate the gas consumption of the network. According to a report by Nansen, a crypto analytics platform, NFTs have lagged behind most Ethereum gas fees.
Notably, while Ethereum’s transition to proof-of-stake, in an event known as “The Merge,” is expected to address high gas prices, investors are now exploring alternatives like Cardanowhich offers greater cost efficiency after its recent introduction Hydra upgrade.
Ethereum gas consumption shift
According to data revealed by Nansen on Friday, there is currently a notable shift in Ethereum gas consumption patterns. NFT marketplaces, which once held the top spot, now account for only 3% of total gas consumption.
Surprisingly, the decentralized exchange (DEX) Uniswap has emerged as the primary gas consumer, accounting for 31.99% of gas consumption. This shift indicates diversification in Ethereum transaction activity and a reduction in NFT-related gas consumption. Nansen noted:
Gone were the days when NFTs topped Ethereum’s gas consumption charts. This week, OpenSea and Blur together accounted for less than 10% of the top 20 gas consumers. And against all gas consumers, the NFT marketplaces were just over 3%. Uniswap, on the other hand, was 10x more – 31.99%.
This substantial drop in NFT-related gas consumption can be attributed to several factors, including network congestion caused by an influx of trading meme coins, most notably the recently hyped frog-themed meme coin PEPE.
This wave of meme coin transactions resulted in increased gas prices, prompting users to explore alternatives and easing the burden on NFT marketplaces.
Navigating the gas crisis
Ethereum’s gas crisis continues despite The Merge, which is said to improve scalability and reduce gas costs by migrating the network to a proof-of-stake consensus model. In response, some investors have taken solace in blockchain platforms that offer cost-efficient alternatives.
With the recent Hydra upgrade, Cardano has gained attention for its ability to handle transactions more economically. The implementation of Hydra’s layer-2 scaling solution has positioned Cardano as a viable option for users seeking relief from Ethereum’s high gas prices.
The recent decline in gas consumption from NFT marketplaces marks a major turning point in Ethereum’s gas crisis. As decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols and other transaction-heavy platforms take the lead in gas consumption, the burden on NFT marketplaces has eased.
However, the wider Ethereum community anticipates the implementation of updates to the mainnet to address the ongoing gas issues and improve scalability on the network.
In the meantime, The price of Ethereum has been on an upward trend over the past week, up 2.4%. ETH has surged from a low of $1,771 last Friday to trade above $1,800 later this week.
Ethereum’s market cap has also made huge gains over the past 7 days. ETH’s market cap is up more than 2% from a low of $215 billion to a high of $218 billion on Friday. Meanwhile, ETH’s daily trading volume has fallen all week from a high of $10 billion last Friday to $5.5 billion in the past 24 hours.
Interestingly, the asset has picked up where it left off, rising 1.1% in the past 24 hours. ETH is currently trading slightly above USD 1,800 with a price of USD 1,811 at the time of writing.
Featured image of Unsplash, chart from TradingView