Still complaining about high on-chain fees? Ethereum Gas drops to $0.01, hitting an all-time low

Author: Fenrir, Crypto City

For a long time, Ethereum network transaction fees have been a topic of discussion, but recent developments show a clear change. According to on-chain data platform Etherscan, as of this writing, the average Gas price on Ethereum is about 0.045 Gwei, reaching a low not seen in recent years.

Source: Etherscan | The average Gas price on Ethereum is approximately 0.045 Gwei

At this fee level, most on-chain operation costs have dropped to very low levels. We tested on Uniswap, and typical ERC-20 token swap fees are around $0.01; transfer fees are even less than $0.01. Even for more complex operations like cross-chain transfers or DeFi lending, costs generally stay below about $0.12 in most cases.

Source: Uniswap | In our test on Uniswap, typical ERC-20 token swap fees are about $0.01

Looking at long-term trends, the decline in Gas fees is even more significant. Over the past week, the average fee was around 0.5 to 0.6 Gwei, while the same period in 2025 saw average fees close to 6 Gwei, indicating a reduction of over 90% within a year. For Ethereum, which once saw single transaction fees exceeding $200 during peak bull markets, the current fee levels are almost considered historic lows.

Layer 2 and upgrades driving transformation Analysis indicates that the decrease in Ethereum transaction fees is closely related to recent network architecture adjustments. As Layer 2 scaling solutions like Arbitrum, Base, and Optimism rapidly grow, many daily transactions have shifted to these second-layer networks. Meanwhile, the Dencun upgrade completed in 2024 introduced EIP-4844 (Proto-Danksharding), significantly reducing the cost for Rollups to publish data on the mainnet. The upcoming Fusaka upgrade in 2025 will further increase data throughput through PeerDAS technology by adding Blob capacity.

These technological changes enable high-frequency trading, stablecoin transfers, and DeFi operations to be conducted on Layer 2, while the mainnet gradually shifts to a secure settlement layer. Currently, Ethereum mainnet block utilization is about 46%, which is relatively stable compared to past frequent congestion. For developers, lower Gas fees also make testing smart contracts, deploying applications, and minting NFTs much easier.

Lower fees, but market still focuses on demand and price performance Despite transaction costs reaching lows, the Ethereum market still faces other variables. The ETH price recently hovers around $2,075, still significantly below the 2025 high. Market analysis suggests that macroeconomic conditions and ETF capital outflows exert pressure on the overall crypto market prices. However, on-chain data shows that activity within the Ethereum ecosystem remains strong.

Recent transaction volume remains high, partly because Layer 2 network activity continues to grow. Additionally, stablecoin settlements and smart contract calls remain active. These data points indicate that demand for Ethereum usage persists, although activity is gradually shifting from the mainnet to scaling layers.

Comparison of transaction and cross-border remittance costs, stablecoins still have situational advantages Recently, Mega Bank (兆豐金) conducted a cross-border remittance test, noting that stablecoin transactions typically incur a fixed fee of about 1 to 2 USDT, plus approximately 0.2% of the transfer amount. Based on this experiment, remittances exceeding about $7,000 (roughly 200,000 TWD) could be cheaper via bank transfer than stablecoin transfer.

However, actual on-chain transaction fees currently tell a different story, sparking discussion within the crypto community. After Ethereum Gas fees dropped to historic lows, an ERC-20 transfer usually costs only about $0.01 to $0.02, and DeFi swap fees average around $0.11 to $0.14. In other words, even with multiple on-chain operations, total costs remain far below the fixed rate of 1 USDT. Using Layer 2 networks, some transactions can cost even less than $0.01.

Therefore, some believe that the cost model used in Mega Bank’s experiment may not fully reflect the rapid decline in on-chain fees. As Ethereum scaling continues and Gas costs decrease, the cost structure for cryptocurrency payments and cross-border transfers is rewriting existing perceptions of blockchain transaction fees.