Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin believes that Layer-2 transaction fees will only be “truly acceptable” if they are lowered to under $0.05. Layer-2 transaction fees help scale an application by processing transactions off the Ethereum Mainnet, also called layer 1 main blockchain. Layer 2 solutions increase transaction speed and reduce gas fees.
This comes after Ryan Sean Adams, a popular podcaster shared a screenshot on Twitter stating that Ethereum offers cheaper gas fees alternatives. The screenshot showcased Layer 2 networks such as Metis Network offering a $0.85 fee, Loopring came in at $0.12, ZKSync at $0.19, Polygon at $0.25, Boba Network at $0.48, and Optimism network at $0.57.
Responding to the podcaster’s tweet, Buterin said that Ethereum scaling solutions “needs to get under $0.05 to be truly acceptable”, adding “but we’re definitely making great progress, and even proto-danksharding may be enough to get us there for a while!”
Proto-dankshrding or also known as EIP4844 is a new upgrade shared by Buterin to improve the blockchain network. The upgrade improves the network by organising large transactions into smaller ones. This helps in decreasing Ethereum gas fees and benefits its scalability features.
Earlier this week, Ethereum’s huge transaction fee was in the forefront when Yuga Labs launched $310 million NFT airdrop for its new metaverse Otherside. People flocked to get the airdrop, and spent over 60,000 ETH (worth around $165 million) on gas fees.
In other news, Ethereum Merge is headed for another delay. Ethereum’s shift from Proof of Work, or PoW to Proof of Stake (PoS) algorithm will not happen in June. In a tweet, Ethereum core developer Tim Beiko confirmed that the long-awaited ‘Ethereum Merge’ will come later than expected. “It won’t be June, but likely in a few months after. No firm date yet, but we’re definitely in the final chapter of PoW on Ethereum.” The setback is not surprising given that ‘The Merge’ has constantly been delayed ever since it was first proposed.
