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 conditions have shown a significant 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.

Image source: Etherscan ｜ Average Gas price on Ethereum is about 0.045 Gwei

At this fee level, most on-chain operations have become extremely cheap. We tested on Uniswap, and typical ERC-20 token swap transaction 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.

Image source: Uniswap ｜ “Crypto City” tested on Uniswap, with typical ERC-20 token swap fees around $0.01

Looking at long-term trends, the decline in Gas fees is even more pronounced. Over the past week, the average fee was about 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 costs exceeding $200 during peak bull markets, current fee levels are almost at a historic low.

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 rapidly grow, many daily transactions have shifted to second-layer networks like Arbitrum, Base, and Optimism. Meanwhile, the Dencun upgrade completed in 2024 introduced EIP-4844 (Proto-Danksharding), significantly reducing the cost of data publication for Rollups 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 transforms into 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 dropping to historic lows, the Ethereum market still faces other variables. Recently, ETH price has hovered around $2,075, still significantly below the 2025 high. Market analysis suggests that macroeconomic conditions and ETF capital outflows are exerting downward pressure on the overall crypto market prices. However, on-chain data shows that activity within the Ethereum ecosystem has not weakened. Recent transaction counts remain high, partly because Layer 2 network transaction volume continues to grow. Additionally, stablecoin settlements and smart contract calls remain active. These data points indicate that demand for Ethereum usage persists, even as activity shifts 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 costs. However, actual on-chain transaction fees currently tell a different story, sparking discussion within some crypto communities. After Ethereum Gas fees dropped to historic lows, a single 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 multiple on-chain operations cost far less than the fixed $1 USDT fee. 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 of cryptocurrency payments and cross-border transfers is rewriting the market’s previous perceptions of blockchain transaction fees.