Ethereum gas prices, Bitcoin miner revenue both approach record lows
Quick Take
- The median daily gas price on the Ethereum network hit its lowest level since 2020 on Saturday, making a strong case for Layer 2 networks easing the burden of sending a transaction on mainnet.
- Simultaneously, Bitcoin mining revenue per hash has also approached record lows both this month and last month as miners feel the impact of the latest halving event.
The median gas price on Ethereum 
ETH
-0.40%
's mainnet on Saturday fell just below 3 gwei, a level that hasn't been seen since 2020, in a significant sign that Ethereum's Layer 2 networks may in fact be helping to ease the cost of sending a transaction on the world's second most valuable blockchain.
Just one year ago, that median gas price was about 15 to 20 gwei, a significant increase over Saturday's value. 2024's peak gas prices came in March, with the highest one-day median gas price occurring on March 5 with 83 gwei, according to a Dune Analytics dashboard by @hildobby.
However, after the Dencun upgrade went live on Ethereum on March 13, bringing "blobs" to Ethereum and reducing the cost of sending transactions on Layer 2 networks, the median price of gas has steadily declined.
That low gas price has had the effect of driving Ethereum's burn rate to a 12-month low, according to data from The Block. With the low burn rate, Ethereum is currently slightly inflationary, according to ultrasound.money, with its seven-day average supply growth at 0.56%/year.
Bitcoin miners also see low revenue
Following Bitcoin 
BTC
-0.73%
's most recent block reward halving event on April 20, the amount of revenue miners have received per terahash per second (TH/s) has hit record lows in the last two months, according to The Block's data dashboard.
Other than the halving, one possible reason for the low profitability could be the low number of new wallets entering the Bitcoin ecosystem; the seven-day average of new Bitcoin wallets is currently at its lowest level since 2018, six years ago.
However, mining companies such as CleanSpark are still performing well, with CleanSpark outperforming Bitcoin's price for the year so far. Bitfarms and Core Scientific have also outperformed Bitcoin's price year-to-date, according to The Block's data, though smaller mining firms have struggled.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump has met with representatives from the Bitcoin mining industry in the United States, expressing support for miners should he win November's upcoming Presidential election.
Disclaimer: The Block is an independent media outlet that delivers news, research, and data. As of November 2023, Foresight Ventures is a majority investor of The Block. Foresight Ventures invests in other companies in the crypto space. Crypto exchange Bitget is an anchor LP for Foresight Ventures. The Block continues to operate independently to deliver objective, impactful, and timely information about the crypto industry. Here are our current financial disclosures.
© 2023 The Block. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.
