Ethereum Layer-2s See Massive Drop in Transaction Fees After Dencun Upgrade 

The recently launched Dencun upgrade live up to expectations as Ethereum L2 networks, like Optimism and Base, record massive plunge in transaction fees.   

Following the implementation of the Dencun upgrade, Layer-2 (L2) scaling solutions on Ethereum have recorded a significant decrease in their average transaction fees. 

Dencun Upgrade Rolls Out 

Recall that the highly anticipated Dencun upgrade went live on the Ethereum mainnet yesterday, March 13, at precisely 13:55 (UTC).

Dencun, which represents the most significant upgrade on Ethereum since the “Merge,” introduced a mechanism to reduce transaction costs on L2 networks. 

With Dencun implemented on the Ethereum mainnet, L2 networks found a new way to store data, dubbed Binary Large Objects (blobs).

The blob feature allows L2 networks to store data off-chain, which becomes inaccessible after three weeks, rather than the expensive “call data” solution that stores data permanently. 

L2 Networks Transaction Fees Drop 

Since the Dencun upgrade went live yesterday, it has been living up to expectations as top L2 networks, like Base, Optimism, and zkSync, have seen a sharp drop in their transaction fees. 

Recent data from Marcov’s Dune-based tracker highlight the significant drop in transaction fees across major Ethereum-based L2 networks. 

For instance, the average transaction fee on Optimism, which stood at around $2.44 an hour before Dencun launched, has plunged to $0.068 at press time. Similarly, the average cost of transaction on Coinbase’s Layer-2 Base has also plummeted to $0.196 from $1.212 within the same timeframe. 

Additionally, zkSync’s average fee has dropped to $0.162 from a daily high of $0.546, while Zora network’s transaction cost also fell from $0.752 to $0.003. 

It bears mentioning that the reduced transaction fee trend is dominant across L2 networks that have implemented blobs.

The average transaction costs on L2 networks that are yet to implement the upgrade have remained the same. For instance, Arbitrum falls within this category, as its average transaction cost has fluctuated between $0.65 to $0.84 over the past 24 hours. 

However, the high fee on Arbitrum would soon be a thing of the past, as the team behind the network plans to integrate with Dencun improvements today. 

Blobs are finally on Ethereum, here's an update on Arbitrum support!

1⃣ Tomorrow, all Arbitrum rollup chains can start to see lower fees as a result of Dencun x ArbOS Atlas upgrade.

2⃣ March 18th there will be additional fee reductions for Arbitrum One, as per ArbOS Atlas.

— Arbitrum (💙,🧡) (@arbitrum) March 13, 2024