by Nayab Fatima
Ethereum users now have lower transaction fees because Dencun reduced prices by 95%. The Etherscan data shows that users need to pay $0.39 for swapping operations in contrast to the previous $86 year ago. On March 13, 2024 the network updates named Dencun combined Cancun and Deneb to deliver Ethereum’s biggest changes.
The Dencun upgrade established nine Ethereum Improvement Proposals to make layer-2 networks more scalable and cheaper to use. Prices per gas transaction dropped from 72 gwei in 2024 to only 2.7 gwei as of March 12, 2025 according to YCharts data. The price drop affects DeFi and NFT transactions on the network more than ever.
Ethereum Price Drops Sharply
The total gas expenditures users paid to process NFT sales throughout 2024 have decreased to $0.65 per transaction this year. ETH has lost 53% of its market value since Ethereum launched Dencun despite prices of related assets becoming cheaper. According to CoinGecko the digital coin value decreased from more than $4,070 in March 2024 to $1,891 by March 13, 2025.
The network performs worse since blockchain competitors emerge while market instability remains high. The Ethereum development team keeps enhancing the network features and Pectra reached its last testnet platform on Sepolia in March. The system started working on March 5 yet problems occurred after errors appeared and empty blocks were found during mining.
Ethereum developer Marius van der Wijden verified that a repair had worked before another unknown person restarted these problems. After resolving the issues the team resumed regular transactions on the testnet system.
Future Of Ethereum Uncertain
The Pectra upgrade is expected to bring benefits such as doubling layer-2 data space while reducing costs and expanding processing power but many experts doubt if Ethereum will survive beyond this stage. Ethereum encountered poor performance during its current difficulties as Dominik Harz from Build on Bitcoin (BOB) points out.
He believes Pectra will help Ethereum but says its position as leader for developers stands threatened. According to Harz the Pectra upgrade cannot resolve all ongoing Ethereum network challenges. Many blockchain networks now compete with Ethereum since Ethereum established its leadership position for running smart contracts before new platforms evolved.
These alternative blockchains’ quicker processing and reduced charge options push people away from using the ETH platform. Despite lowering gas fees ETH did not attract more investors because they are moving their money to other crypto blockchain networks.
The future success of Ethereum as a platform depends on how well it solves the scalability and cost problems that affect its current developers and users. The coming period will prove if recent technical updates help ETH regain its market position or if other blockchain platforms continue replacing its users.
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