Ethereum Virtual Machine Chains and Other Networks See Spike in Gas Spent on Inscriptions
Transaction fees on blockchain networks have surged over the weekend as the demand for blockspace continues to rise due to the ongoing inscriptions craze. This trend is not limited to the Bitcoin network alone, as inscriptions on Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) chains have also witnessed a significant increase in gas spent.
According to data from Dune Analytics, gas spent on inscriptions reached a record high of $8.3 million on December 16. The Avalanche network accounted for the highest gas spent, with over $5.6 million in a single day. Aribitrum One followed closely with $2.1 million spent on gas for inscriptions.
In the past 24 hours, 58% of Avalanche's network gas was spent on EVM inscriptions, while zkSync Era saw 48% of its fees dedicated to inscriptions. BNB Chain also experienced a surge, with 73% of its transactions in the past 24 hours related to inscriptions.
The severity of the situation on the Arbitrum One network led to a 78-minute outage on December 15.
Bitcoin Network Also Impacted by Inscriptions Surge
The surge in inscriptions is not limited to EVM chains. The Bitcoin network has also witnessed an increase in inscriptions, leading to higher block space demand and transaction fees. Currently, there are nearly 280,000 unconfirmed transactions on the Bitcoin network, according to mempool.space.
Observers have noted that Bitcoin transaction fees have spiked as high as $37, making it impractical for most people to use the network for its intended purpose as peer-to-peer digital money.
Adam Back, a Bitcoin pioneer and cryptographer, believes that inscriptions cannot be stopped and that the high fees will drive the adoption of layer-2 solutions and encourage innovation.
Ordinals Expert Highlights Remarkable Volume and Market Capitalization
On December 18, an expert in NFTs and ordinals, known as "Leonidas," revealed that a single collection had generated more volume in the past 24 hours than several popular NFT collections combined, including CryptoPunks, BAYC, MAYC, Pudgy Penguins, Azuki, DeGods, Moonbirds, Doodles, and Meebits.
The Bitcoin Frogs ordinals collection emerged as the top-ranking collection in terms of market capitalization, with $182 million.
Secondary sales of the collection reached $4.8 million on December 17, according to Cryptoslam.
