It comes as no surprise that Ethereum miners are the only ones benefitting from the surge in transaction fees on the overladen network.
Research by crypto analytics provider Glassnode has reported that on Feb. 5, Ethereum miners earned $3.74 million in a single hour. This marks the highest ever hourly revenue for the network.
The report added that the total mining revenue for the same day was over $55 million, another all-time high for Ethereum. Miners are earning more than ever with gas-heavy smart contract operations taking up more of the network’s resources.
Mining revenue is currently more than double what it was in early 2018 when Ethereum reached its previous all-time high of over $1,400. It has also eclipsed levels in late 2017 when the CryptoKitties frenzy ground the network to a halt.
Gas Crisis Continues
The profitable news for miners correlates with the surge in gas prices which, according to BitInfoCharts, have also hit an all-time high.
The on-chain metrics provider reported that the average transaction cost on Ethereum reached a peak of over $25 on Feb. 5. It is currently being reported at around $23.80 and showing no signs of retreating as the asset continues to make new price highs.
Since the beginning of 2021, average transaction fees have surged around 600% making minor operations and transfers on the network completely unsustainable.
CoinGecko founder Bobby Ong pointed out this painful reality over the weekend;
He added that the current state of things will deter any new players from entering the Ethereum-based DeFi ecosystem.
“No one starting out will want to spend this much money just to learn and will in fact have a very negative experience of this ‘future of finance.’
Another consequence is the shifting to faster, cheaper rivals such as Binance Smart Chain, Polkadot, and NEO’s Flamingo Finance.
Ethereum Price Highs
The news is not all bad, however, and Ethereum holders and stakers will be enjoying the fact that the asset has made a new all-time high.
According to TradingView, ETH prices hit a record $1,780 in the early hours of Feb. 9. The move marked a gain of almost 10% on the day and 27% since the same time last week.
At the time of press, Ethereum had retreated slightly to trade at $1,740. It’s still showing strong momentum despite recent FUD regarding the launch of CME’s futures contracts.
A number of industry pundits expected a price crash similar to the one in 2018 following the launch of Bitcoin futures, but things are still looking bullish.
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