• Ethereum’s average daily active players in the gaming sector declined drastically
• The high gas fees have forced many users and gamers to opt for alternative chains
• Interest in staking ETH declined over the past few weeks
Decline in Ethereum Network Gaming Activity
The Ethereum network has seen a considerable decline in gaming activity recently. Gas fees have increased by a significant margin, but have since gone back down. The cryptocurrency space has been driving users to multiple networks over the last few months, but Ethereum was not one of them. Data provided by Delphi Digital shows that the number of active gamers on the Ethereum network is negligible compared to other networks such as BNB and Polygon.
Cause of Decline
The cause of this decline is likely due to the high gas fees which have caused users to look elsewhere for better options. However, Dune Analytics‘ data shows that overall gas fees on Ethereum are actually lower than they were during February 2020. Furthermore, whale interest appears to be decreasing based on glassnode’s data which shows that addresses holding more than 1,000 ETH has reached a 3-month low of 6,497.
Impact of Shanghai Hardfork
The Shanghai Hardfork will go live on 28 February at epoch 56832 and enable holders to withdraw their staked ETH from the beacon chain. It remains unclear how much impact this will have on gas fees or whale interest but it’s likely that it won’t make too much difference considering current trends.
Current Price
At press time, ETH was trading at $1,671 with a 0.61% decline over the last day.
Conclusion
In conclusion, despite its current issues with gaming activity and gas fees, Ethereum’s network remains resilient overall. Whether or not this resilience can hold against current trends remains uncertain but only time will tell what direction things will take for Ethereum in the near future.