Ethereum Layer 1 accumulates $1.67 billion in fees from DeFi

On-chain data analytics platform Growthepie has revealed that the Ethereum Layer 1 blockchain has accumulated over $1.67 billion in gas fees from DeFi, accounting for over 30% of all the fees accumulated from all DeFi ecosystems. Base, ZKsync Era, and Arbitrum One are the chains taking the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th place after Ethereum, having accumulated $39.53 million, $37.69 million, and $34.60 million in DeFi fees, respectively.

The data also indicated that Ethereum Layer 1 is still leading in weekly DeFi fees, accumulating a little over $1 million. Base and Arbitrum One are the 2nd and 3rd chains in weekly fees, accumulating over $179,000 and $22,000, respectively. The Ethereum on-chain data platform highlighted the massive gap between Ethereum and other chains in terms of fees.

The chain is still significantly lower from its daily DeFi fee highs recorded in May 2023 and March 2024. Ethereum has recorded a little over $170,000 in daily DeFi fees as of February 15, lower than its highs of over $11 million in May 2023. Growthepie also highlighted that the other chains are also down significantly, with most posting zero daily fees while some managed only a few thousand dollars in fees.

The data further revealed that Ethereum CeFi transaction fees are significantly lower than DeFi fees, with all-time CeFi fees standing at a little over $635 million. Weekly CeFi transaction fees on Ethereum Layer 1 are still higher than DeFi weekly fees on the chain, standing at a little over $1.9 million as of February 15.

The DeFi transaction count on Ethereum Layer 1 is notably lower than Base, ZKsync Era, and Arbitrum One, standing at a little over 149 million all-time transactions. Base has recorded over 352 million all-time DeFi transactions, while ZKsync Era and Arbitrum One have recorded over 150 million and 155 million transactions, respectively.

Vitalik Buterin advocates for Ethereum Layer 1 dominance in DeFi

Reasons to have higher L1 gas limits even in an L2-heavy Ethereumhttps://t.co/BMFhzoO8bE

— vitalik.eth (@VitalikButerin) February 14, 2025

The Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin recently released a proposal suggesting the scaling of Ethereum Layer 1 10 times more amid the slowing activity on the base layer. Buterin explained the need for more scaling to support over 120 million Ethereum users weekly. The Ethereum co-founder added that the scaling would lower Ethereum’s gas fees, improve the network’s security, and introduce rollups support.

Buterin also expressed concern about potential censorship on Layer 2s, especially when the chains are congested. The blockchain’s co-founder explained that centralized sequencers worsened L2 censorship. The scaling proposal suggested force-inclusion mechanisms that would allow users to shift to the base layer and complete transactions in case of censorship. Buterin confirmed that the mechanism would also allow massive exit events without crippling gas fees.

The proposal also suggested a continued increase in Ethereum’s base layer gas limits. Buterin pointed out the recent increase in gas limits from 30 million to 36 million. The Ethereum co-founder still pointed out the issues that might come in the long term, including the difficulty in reducing the gas limit compared to increasing the limit.

Ethereum Layer 2 facing scalability issues

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— Good Game (@goodgamepodxyz) February 9, 2025

Buterin’s suggestion to scale up Ethereum Layer 1 comes amid the chain’s Layer 2 struggles, including decreasing gas fees and users. On-chain data has revealed that Ethereum Layer 2 gas fees had dropped below 1 Gwei, the lowest it has been in 5 years. The low fees further indicated the dwindling on-chain activity on the chain’s Layer 2s.

A recent interview with Alliance DAO’s Qiao Wang on The Good Game podcast revealed that he had lost faith in the capabilities of Ethereum L2s. The Alliance DAO co-founder further highlighted that protocols performed better on other chains than Ethereum. Wang insisted that it would be wiser for developers to build on Solana rather than Ethereum.

The Alliance DAO co-founder still mentioned that the blockchain’s scalability remained an issue despite its strong ecosystem. Wang also explained that current users were depending on the chain because ‘they have been in it for too long.’ The DeFi protocol’s executive said that the issues on the blockchain led to him shifting to other options.

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