Ethereum Gas Fees Drop to Record Lows Despite Rising Network Activity

Ethereum, the world’s largest smart contract platform, is showing signs of a more mature and scalable blockchain ecosystem as gas fees remain near historic lows.

According to data from Milkroad, average Ethereum transaction fees now stand at 0.16 gwei, roughly $0.01 per transaction, while token swaps cost about $0.15 and NFT trades around $0.27.

These ultra-low costs mark a sharp contrast to previous market cycles when high user demand often led to surging fees, sometimes exceeding hundreds of dollars per transaction. The current stability suggests Ethereum’s recent network upgrades are successfully addressing scalability challenges that long plagued the ecosystem.

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Rising Network Usage Signals Renewed Momentum

Despite the lower costs, activity on Ethereum has surged in recent weeks. Daily transactions climbed to 1.6 million on Tuesday, the highest level in nearly a month, while active addresses peaked at 695,872 on Saturday. This is a monthly record, according to data from Nansen.

The rebound in network participation follows a quieter period after the early October liquidation event, which wiped out nearly $19 billion in leveraged crypto positions. Analysts believe the rise in both active addresses and daily transactions highlights renewed confidence in Ethereum’s efficiency and cost structure.

The combination of growing activity and historically low gas fees marks an important shift for the network. It suggests Ethereum is becoming robust enough to handle higher user volumes and more complex real-world applications, from decentralized finance (DeFi) and NFTs to enterprise-grade tokenization projects.

Network Upgrades Strengthen Scalability and Efficiency

Ethereum’s low transaction costs can be largely attributed to its recent Dencun and Pectra upgrades, which have dramatically improved scalability. The Pectra upgrade, launched in May 2025, doubled the blob capacity for layer-2 (L2) rollups, slashing L2 transaction fees by roughly 50%. This enhancement also redirected more transactions off the mainnet, further reducing congestion and costs.

Meanwhile, the Dencun upgrade, deployed on March 13, 2024, introduced data availability improvements that lowered L2 fees and cut average mainnet transaction costs by 95% over the past year. Together, these upgrades have laid the groundwork for a faster, more cost-efficient Ethereum capable of supporting mass adoption.

Ethereum appears better positioned than ever to power the next generation of Web3 innovation without the bottlenecks that once limited its potential.

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