On September 7th, the Ethereum average gas fees surged by a shocking 300%, shaking the crypto community. This is the highest point recorded since last spring and it’s likely caused by the NFT presale event ‘The Sevens.’
Ethereum fees have skyrocketed by 300% for the first time since May after the marketwide collapse recorded on September 7th. Credits: PexelsEthereum gas fees skyrocket this September (again)
This year has probably been the most difficult one for the NFT community in terms of gas fees. After the Ethereum gas fees had skyrocketed in May this year, they have increased by 300% in a matter of hours yesterday (September 8).
More precisely, the average ETH fee was $21.29. The annual average gas fee chart below shows just how much this surge means compared to previous quarters:
Credits: YChartsThe marketwide collapse that surged ETH fees
Obviously, the main cause behind Ethereum’s recent gas fee spike is the marketwide collapse recorded on September 7th.
In fact, recent reports show that there was over $2.5 billion worth of positions completely wiped off within hours. As a result, Ethereum has instantly depreciated to about $3K, while Bitcoin dipped lower than $43K.
Like any other event of this kind, the sudden collapse convinced many sellers to start trading. Exchanges such as Uniswap became incredibly crowded as collectors were trying to make some profit out of their assets in a massive panic sale.
Obviously, the more transactions people are making, the faster the gas fees go up – the reason for this Spetember fee hike. Actually, many collectors have turned to lower-fee alternatives like Polygon.
However, there’s one more thing that may have led to this September gas fee surge: ‘The Sevens.’
‘The Seven’ NFT collection launch has skyrocketed ETH fees on September 7th. Credits: NFT Project List
How The Sevens’ NFT sale broke gas fees on September 8
On September 4th, the unique NFT collectibles group The Sevens has officially started the pre-sale event as part of its NFT collection launch. The presale ended on September 7th at 12 pm – the same date when the public-sale event had begun.
Since many collectors were eager to get their own NFT, the group limited the NFTs minted per transaction. To be exact, users could only purchase a single NFT during the first 7 minutes of the public sale. Then, the maximum mint allowed per transaction was 7 NFTs.
Even so, the event was incredibly successful, skyrocketing the overall number of transactions for the day. However, they didn’t expect to make such an impression on the ETH gas fees this September.
Higher gas fees, alternative solutions
Although the 300% surge recorded yesterday doesn’t happen on a regular basis, Ethereum gas prices are definitely now higher than ever. Mainly, network activity influences the gas fee.
Apparently, weekdays mornings (in the US) are the best time time to find low gas prices. Meanwhile, the busiest days for the network are Tuesday and Thursday. Obviously, these days also have the highest gas fees.
However, recent events proved that high gas prices are still unavoidable to some extent. This inconvenience has already skyrocketed the popularity of many accessible alternatives, such as Polygon and Cardano.
