Quick summary:
- Ethereum miners are reaping big from ETH fees due to DeFi
- Their earnings from transaction fees have surpassed those being earned on the Bitcoin network
- Additionally, the amount of Bitcoin being wrapped on Ethereum continues to grow
- The value of Ethereum (ETH) is destined to grow with the increased network activity
Ethereum miners are reaping big from transaction fees due to the increased network activity related to DeFi. Yesterday, Ethereum miners hit a new milestone by earning $1 Million in an hour due to fees paid out to claim UniSwap (UNI) tokens. Yesterday’s high ETH fees, preceded Coinbase Pro announcing it will pass network fees to its customers.
These same events, coupled with increased Ethereum network activity, have resulted in ETH miners earning more from transaction fees than their counterparts on the Bitcoin network.
This feat was captured by the team at Unfolded via the following tweet and accompanying chart comparing fees paid out on both the BTC and ETH networks.
Ethereum miner’s revenue from fees surpass #Bitcoin‘s (7d avg) pic.twitter.com/vNPjHUYkSH
— Unfolded (@cryptounfolded) September 18, 2020
Ethereum researcher, Justin Drake, also captured the increased network activity on Ethereum and miner revenue from transaction fees. He further explained that ETH transactions during the UNI airdrop broke records.
Yesterday Ethereum processed 1.4m transactions—a new record.
Transaction fees were $16m, ~50% more than Bitcoin fees and block rewards combined.
Bitcoin on the Ethereum Network Continues to Grow Exponentially
The popularity of DeFi from the month of June has come with an increased demand for Bitcoin’s value on the Ethereum network. As a result, more BTC is being issued on the Ethereum network with the current value exceeding $1 Billion. Below is a visual representation of the growth of Bitcoin on the Ethereum network.
#Bitcoin on Ethereum > $1 billlion pic.twitter.com/UFYCFI9SeZ
— Unfolded (@cryptounfolded) September 18, 2020
DeFi’s Effects on the Price of Ethereum
As has been noted numerous times, the growth of DeFi at warp speed has been linked to the value of ETH also increasing. One example is yesterday’s UNI airdrop that caused a spike in Ethereum value from $365 levels to $380 levels in a matter of minutes. Eligible Ethereum users rushed to purchase ETH to claim their free UniSwap (UNI) tokens.
The team at Crypterium research has also captured this relationship of DeFi activity and the value of Ethereum (ETH). They have summarized it as follows.
DeFi’s heyday continues, and Ethereum provides the infrastructure for them. Therefore, the rise in the price of ETH can take a long time. We also want to note that the uptrend for this coin has not yet been reversed.