Higher activity, lower fees: Here’s what December’s onchain data shows

Several of the biggest blockchain networks handled much transactions successful December adjacent arsenic the fees users paid fell, a motion that caller scaling upgrades are expanding capableness and easing contention for artifact space, according to information compiled by Nansen.

Data from Nansen showed that Bitcoin, Tron, Ethereum, Arbitrum, Polygon, Avalanche, and The Open Network (TON) recorded month-over-month increases successful transactions, portion interest gross declined sharply crossed the aforesaid period. 

Ethereum transactions accrued by 16% contempt a 57% diminution successful interest revenue. Polygon showed a akin divergence, with transaction counts jumping 82% portion fees dropped 47%. Arbitrum and Avalanche besides showed a precise notable transactions-up, fees-down pattern.

Tron, Bitcoin, and TON recorded much humble transaction maturation of 0.6%, 7.7% and 7.9%, respectively. However, these chains besides saw declines successful interest revenue, reinforcing the broader inclination of easing blockspace unit crossed networks.

The trends constituent to a structural displacement successful however blockchains grip demand. Scaling upgrades, rollups, and cheaper execution environments expanded capacity, without triggering congestion oregon bidding wars for inclusion. 

Blockchain addresses, transactions, and fees information successful the past 30 days. Source: Nansen

According to Nansen’s artificial quality assistance section, its percentage-change figures are not strict month-over-month comparisons but bespeak shifts comparative to caller enactment baselines. 

As a result, crisp reversals oregon outflows tin registry arsenic declines greater than 100%, representing a nett antagonistic travel successful enactment momentum alternatively than literal “negative transactions.”

Transactions emergence arsenic interest unit fades crossed large networks

On Nov. 27, Ethereum raised its artifact state bounds to 60 million, allowing much transactions and declaration calls to acceptable into each block, easing congestion. 

The effect was reinforced successful December with the Fusaka upgrade, which introduced PeerDAS to dramatically grow information availability and little costs for rollups, reducing aggregate interest unit adjacent arsenic enactment increased.

Polygon showed a akin signifier aft deploying its Madhugiri hard fork successful aboriginal December. As Cointelegraph antecedently reported, the upgrade chopped statement clip to 1 2nd and aimed to boost throughput by up to 33% portion making gas-heavy operations much businesslike and predictable. 

The web positioned the upgrades astir stablecoins and real-world plus (RWA) tokenization, which thin to make much predominant but low-urgency transactions that assistance volumes without pushing fees higher. 

Meanwhile, Avalanche’s show seems to beryllium a effect of a premix of ecosystem activities.

Nansen Research's Avalanche Ecosystem Report showed that the network’s transaction maturation tin beryllium attributed to stablecoin payments, organization settlement, and user platforms similar ticketing and gaming. 

These usage cases make precocious throughput but small contention for blockspace, allowing transactions to emergence portion fees fall. 

Meanwhile, Arbitrum’s signifier reflects the economics of rollup scaling. The web batches transactions off-chain and posts compressed information to Ethereum, allowing transaction volumes to turn without proportional increases successful fees. 

Its interest marketplace plan separates execution costs from Ethereum calldata costs, dampening interest volatility adjacent nether higher load. 

Related: Memecoins spell from Christmas cheer to acold reality, sinking 65% successful a year

Not each networks shared the aforesaid divergence

While respective large blockchains recorded higher transactions alongside falling fees, others saw enactment and interest gross diminution successful tandem, reflecting a quieter onchain situation implicit the past 30 days. 

BNB Chain had a crisp pullback, with transactions down 79% and fees declining 14%. Base and HyperEVM recorded immoderate of the steepest contractions successful activity. 

Base transactions fell 75%, portion interest gross dropped 63%. HyperEVM followed a akin pattern, with transactions down 119% and fees falling 46%, suggesting reduced short-term usage passim December. 

Meanwhile, Solana remained the busiest web with 1.7 cardinal transactions. However, adjacent this effect marked a 21% month-on-month decrease, according to Nansen. Similarly, interest gross dropped 17% successful the network. 

Solana transactions successful the past 180 days. Source: Nansen

These synchronized declines align with broader crypto marketplace conditions. According to CoinGecko, the wide crypto marketplace capitalization fluctuated betwixt astir $2.9 trillion and $3.1 trillion passim December. 

With prices, volatility, and superior rotation remaining stagnant, onchain enactment crossed networks cooled successful parallel.

Magazine: Ethereum’s Fusaka fork explained for dummies: What the hellhole is PeerDAS?