- Aavegotchi, the NFT game by Aave, has been forced to push back its launch due to “insanely high” gas fees
- The makers have also announced a probable move to the Matic network
- Ethereum 2.0 will solve these problems, but it is still a long way off full implementation
Aavegotchi, the long-awaited NFT game made by DeFi protocol Aave, has been forced to delay its launch due to “insanely high” Ethereum gas fees and has simultaneously announced a probable move to a competing network, namely Matic. The decision reflects the struggles that still plague the Ethereum network, despite the first steps towards a move to the much improved Ethereum 2.0.
Aavegotchi Prefers “Great Gaming Experience” Offered by Matic
The Aavegotchi NFT game was supposed to launch yesterday, but this coincided with a sudden spike in Ethereum gas fees, which saw transactions costs rise to $10, fees not seen since the heydays of Uniswap in the middle of last year.
Due to the nature of the Aavegotchi platform this would have meant extortionate transaction costs for users (“you shouldn’t have to pay $2 to pet your Aavegotchi!”), and so the team put out an update that criticized the “insanely high gas costs and extreme volatility of the Ethereum network”:
ETH LAUNCH IS DELAYED 😭
MOVING TO @maticnetwork 🥳
STAY TUNED FOR ROADMAP UPDATE 🚀 pic.twitter.com/1A4kx8jxod
— Aavegotchi (@aavegotchi) January 4, 2021
After openly criticizing the situation on the Ethereum platform, the team then announced that they were moving to another network, “most likely Matic”, which they say carries the advantages of “no gas fees, faster transaction times, and a great gaming experience…”.
The announcement went down well with supporters of the project, some of whom outlined their negative experiences in recent days with the Ethereum network:
Thank you very much for listening to the community. I spent over $120 on gas for no winning raffle tickets. Would have been happen to spend $5, but not $120.
We wait. 🙂
— The Unpopular Investor (@UnpopInvestor) January 4, 2021
Ethereum Price Rise Causes Gas Fee Spike
The Ethereum gas price spiked 300% in 72 hours between January 1 and January 4 as the price of Ethereum raced past $1,000, forcing users of decentralized exchanges to pay way over the odds for their transactions.
One of the main purposes of Ethereum upgrading to Ethereum 2.0 is the reduction of gas fees and the increase in transactional capacity, but with the process expected to take months or years, situations like Aavegotchi has found itself in will continue, especially if the Ethereum price keeps increasing as it has done in late 2020 and 2021.
