Miners on the Ethereum blockchain have achieved a breakthrough by earning $800 million in January. According to data from market reports, Ethereum mining income, almost 40%, came from the network transaction gas fees.
Gas fees climb up as demand on the Ethereum network rises. Highly elevated network congestion leads to longer processing times, with several unconfirmed transactions. Miners prioritize the users who are willing to pay a premium in order to process transactions. The price rally of Ethereum and soaring transaction fees have pushed Ethereum’s January mining revenue to an all-time-highs, surpassing the last high of $762 million recorded in 2018.
Ethereum’s traffic tolerance has been a major concern for several years. Recently, Ethereum has launched its long-awaited network upgrade, called Ethereum 2.0. It means to direct the network’s security by bringing adjustments to its infrastructure— the shift to a proof of stake (PoS) model from a proof of work (PoW) consensus mechanism. Moreover, the upgrade also aims to improve the Ethereum network efficiency and scalability.
Ethereum Smashed Another Milestone
The price of Ethereum isn’t just tending to smash an all-time high. It remains above $1,000 all month. Crypto analysts believe that the DeFi boom is driving a massive wave of activity on the Ethereum blockchain, which has abruptly grown into a $27 billion industry.
On January 4, Ethereum price was $1,042, and it jumped to $1,380 on January 29. Evan Van Ness, the Ethereum researcher, posted a tweet, “Until this year, $ETH had closed above $1000 on only 25 non-consecutive days in 2018.” At the time of reporting, ETH is trading at $1,334.