EVM Chains Clogged Up with Inscriptions as Daily Network Fees Hit All-Time High of $8M

Ordinals Craze Sparks Gas Fee Explosion Across Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) Networks

• Gas fees on EVM chains hit an all-time high of $8.3 million, driven by a surge in Ordinals inscriptions on December 16.
• Avalanche bears the brunt with over $5.6 million in gas spending, while Arbitrum One experiences a 78-minute outage due to inscriptions overload.
• The inscriptions craze extends to the Bitcoin network, causing a spike in unconfirmed transactions and driving transaction fees, prompting innovations in layer-2 solutions.

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Network transaction fees have surged across various blockchains, fueled by the Ordinals inscriptions trend. The Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) chains, in particular, witnessed an unprecedented spike, reaching a record high of $8.3 million in gas fees on December 16, according to data from Dune Analytics. Notably, the Avalanche network bore the brunt of this surge, with gas spending exceeding $5.6 million on the same day.

Also Read: Bitcoin Dips to $40k Price Level Amid Extended Network Congestion

EVM Inscriptions Craze and Network Impact

The surge in EVM inscriptions has led to a substantial increase in gas expenses, primarily driven by the creation of unique nonfungible tokens (NFTs) on-chain. Recent statistics reveal a noteworthy distribution of network gas fees, highlighting the dominance of EVM inscriptions on networks like Avalanche and zkSync Era. 

The situation escalated on the Arbitrum One network, causing a severe 78-minute outage on December 15. Further underscoring the prevalence of this trend, BNB Chain transactions dedicated a significant 73% to inscriptions over the past 24 hours.

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Ripple Effect on Bitcoin and Market Dynamics

The inscriptions craze has not been confined to EVM chains alone; its ripple effect has reached the Bitcoin network, driving up block space demand and transaction fees. Currently, the Bitcoin network grapples with almost 280,000 unconfirmed transactions, as reported by mempool.space. 

Bitcoin pioneer Adam Back notes that these high fees serve as a catalyst for layer-2 adoption and innovation. Within the Ordinals ecosystem, notable achievements include the Bitcoin Frogs Ordinals collection topping the market capitalization list with an impressive $182 million.

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