The Dencun d'Ethereum upgrade has led to a spectacular drop in transaction costs on the network. Etherscan data reveals that a swap now costs $ 0.39 on average, compared to $ 86 last year.
A year after Dencun, Ethereum fees collapsed
On March 13, 2024, Ethereum deployed the Dencun upgrade, merging the Cancun (execution layer) and Deneb updates (layer of consensus). This historical upgrade introduced nine improvement proposals (EIP) mainly aimed at improving the scalability of the network and reducing transaction costs, particularly for layer 2 solutions.
The impact was immediate and deep. According to data From Ycharts, average gas costs increased from 72 GWEI in March 2024 to only 2.7 GWEI on March 12, 2025 – a drop of 95%.
In concrete terms, an exchange (swap) which cost an average of $ 86 last year only costs $ 0.39 today, according to Etherscan. Likewise, the sale of an NFT which required $ 145 in costs requires only $ 0.65.
This drastic reduction in costs facilitates access to decentralized applications for users with limited capital. DEFI platforms, NFT markets and social finance applications become accessible to a wider audience, as hoped for network developers.
Paradox between technical adoption and market value
Despite this major technical improvement, the price of Ether (ETH) has experienced an opposite evolution. Since the Dencun upgrade, the value of the cryptocurrency has dropped by 53%, going from $ 4,070 in March 2024 to around $ 1,891 a year later, according to Coingecko.
This paradox illustrates the complexity of the cryptocurrency market, where technical improvements do not always result in an appreciation of value. Dominik Harz, co-founder of Build on Bitcoin (Bob), underlined this sub-performance:
“” The fall in prices has erased all TVL gains from the DEFI since the election of Trump. Between the enthusiasm for Solana's same and the last difficult months of Ethereum, the sector visibly seeks a new border. »»
The horizon of Ethereum nevertheless remains marked by future developments. The next major upgrade, Pectra, was deployed on the Sepolia test network on March 5, despite some initial problems. This update promises to double the available data space for layers 2, further reducing costs and increasing execution capacity.
According to Harz, although Pectra constitutes “” a step in the right direction ”, it would not be “” The miracle solution to the deeper problems “of Ethereum, which “” Quickly loses its position as a reference blockchain for developers ”.
While the technical advances of Ethereum continue at a sustained pace, the blockchain founded by Vitalik Buterin faces major challenges: to win back investors, to convince developers, and to prove its relevance to increasingly competitive alternative solutions.
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