Ethereum User Spends $88,000 to Transfer $2,200 Worth of ETH
An Ethereum user, who remains unidentified, recently made a transaction worth $2,200 but shockingly paid $88,000 in fees using ETH on a Sunday. The incident caught the attention of DeFiac, a user, before being highlighted by PeckShield, a blockchain security company.
The cost of a transaction is determined by the gas consumed, the base fee, and the priority fee designated by the user. Gas prices tend to surge during high demand periods for block space, leading users to offer higher prices to validators for transaction prioritization. In this particular scenario, it seems the user mistakenly input a significantly higher amount than the transaction’s value.
Although instances of individuals overpaying for gas due to keyboard input errors are not uncommon, it is interesting to note that the current median gas fee on Ethereum is at its lowest point in five years. Presently, gas fees on the Ethereum blockchain range from 1-2 gwei, equivalent to $0.0089-$0.0178. This minimal range has impacted the ETH issuance schedule, as highlighted in a report by The Block.
The Ethereum network witnessed a reduction in transaction costs for layer 2 blockchains following the implementation of data blob carrying transactions, also known as proto-danksharding, during the Dencun upgrade in March. However, this development led to a decrease in user activity on the mainnet.
Martin Köppelmann, the co-founder of Gnosis, emphasized the necessity of a minimum gas fee of 23.9 gwei to counterbalance the staking rewards for validators. Köppelmann suggested that Ethereum must revive L1 activity, and despite the seemingly counterintuitive nature of the low rates, increasing the gas limit could form part of a strategic approach.
