- Ethereum EIP-1559 has been implemented, with 4,750 ETH set to be burned in the first 24 hours
- The upgrade was celebrated by numerous members of the crypto community
- The burn rate has settled down to around 2.5 ETH per minute
The first batch of ETH has been burnt following the successful integration of the EIP-1559 protocol, with some 4,750 ETH worth $12.82 million set to be burnt in the first 24 hours. The incredible statistic follows the implementation of the new system that sees ETH burnt instead of being sent to miners, with the rate starting off in the region of 13 ETH per hour being sent to the virtual incinerator and settling down to around 2.5 ETH per hour overnight. The average transaction cost, which is set to be less volatile rather than cheaper, at least initially, has remained the same as it was before implementation. There was also no ‘sell the news’ event, with the price of ETH pumping from $2,575 to $2,825 in the hours after the first post-upgrade block was mined.
EIP-1559 Sees Massive ETH Burn
Ethereum’s EIP-1559 upgrade has been much anticipated, with its ETH-burning process of particular interest. While predictions were made in several quarters as to what the initial burn rate would be, few expected what transpired in the opening hours – the burn rate hit an incredible 14 ETH per minute, twice the emission rate, before dropping down to more conservative levels. At the time of writing the emission rate stands at 7 ETH per minute and the burn rate stands at around 2.5 ETH per minute.
EIP-1559 was celebrated by various crypto luminaries yesterday, which was recognized as a huge step forward even by the competition:
EIP-1559 is now live on the Ethereum mainnet 🔥
— Anthony Sassano (🦇, 🔊) (@sassal0x) August 5, 2021
🦇🔊 It’s been 2 hours since the launch of EIP-1559
🔥🔥 @Uniswap (v2+v3) is doing its part burning ~80 ETH so far
❤️🔥❤️🔥 At this rate, Uniswap alone is burning 350,000 ETH – close to $1b worth – per year
👏👏 Congrats to everyone who made EIP-1559 happen. Huge win for Ethereum
— Hayden Adams 🦄 (@haydenzadams) August 5, 2021
Congratulations to the #ethereum community for the successful activation of the London Hardfork. It’s a very significant step towards the agenda of Proof of Stake and great for the industry and environment: https://t.co/IZ8XE2ut7D
— Charles Hoskinson (@IOHK_Charles) August 5, 2021
Transaction Fees Remain the Same
Some Twitter users were surprised that the transaction fees were the same as they were before EIP-1559, but EIP-1559 is not designed to lower gas fees, at least initially, but it is designed to avoid the spikes in transaction fee that saw gas fees hit three figures during the peak of the most recent cycle. Further upgrades should see the transaction fees reduced, especially when Ethereum moves from a proof-of-work to a proof-of-stake system.
