$ETH‘s transaction fees could have been a whopping five times higher if not for the superhero efforts of layer-2 rollup networks like Optimism ($OP) and Arbitrum ($ARB). 💸
This revelation comes from a Chainstack report, highlighting that without these rollups, fees would skyrocket by 360% to 420%, and transaction times would also double to nearly two minutes.
The blockchain trilemma posits that networks like Ethereum, which prioritize security and decentralization, often sacrifice scalability. This means transaction fees can hit the roof when the Ethereum party gets crowded.
Enter rollups, Ethereum’s knight in shining armor. These nifty solutions come in two flavors: Optimistic rollups (like ARB) and zero-knowledge (zk) rollups (like $MATIC‘s zkEVM). 🧻
The past two years have seen a surge in rollup usage, and they have been crucial for Ethereum, helping it stay afloat amidst the rising tide of network activity.
Despite this, Ethereum’s average gas fees (hovering around $1) have continued their upward trajectory from 2021 to now. ⤴️