- Ethereum gas fees spiked to 8-month highs as interest surged in ERC-404 tokens, a new NFT standard allowing fractionalized ownership.
- The rise of ERC-404 tokens coincided with the gas fee increases, with prices peaking at 70 gwei on February 9 amid heavy trading.
- Despite high fees, ERC-404 developers are working to optimize gas usage through solutions like transaction batching to facilitate wider adoption.
The Ethereum network saw a spike in gas fees as interest in ERC-404 tokens surged. Gas prices reached levels not seen since last May, indicating heightened network activity.
The Rise of ERC-404 Tokens
The gas fee surge coincided with growing hype around ERC-404 tokens. ERC-404 aims to combine NFTs with fungible tokens, allowing for fractionalized NFT ownership. The new token standard gained traction after the launch of Pandora on February 5.
Record High Gas Prices
On February 9, average Ethereum gas prices peaked at 70 gwei, with the maximum reaching 377 gwei. These rates represent the highest since mid-2022. Much of the activity stemmed from trading on Uniswap DEX.
Developers Work to Optimize Gas
Despite the standard’s unofficial name, ERC-404 developers are focused on reducing gas costs. Methods like batching transactions show promise for drastically lowering fees. Adoption depends on optimizing gas usage.
The Verdict
While increased network congestion caused record gas prices, developers are responding with solutions. As ERC-404 receives more attention, infrastructure improvements can facilitate adoption. But for now, traders pay a premium to get in early on the latest NFT trend.
