February 15, 2025, marked a pivotal moment for the Ethereum network as the gas limit was officially increased. This adjustment, anticipated by the community for months, had a profound impact on transaction fees, which plummeted below 1 gwei for the first time in years (IntoTheBlock, 2025).
As the gas limit increased, average transaction fees dropped to 0.85 gwei within the first hour (Etherscan, 2025). This immediate reduction in costs triggered a surge in transaction activity, with 1,250,000 transactions processed in the following 24 hours—a 20% increase compared to the previous week’s daily average (CoinMetrics, 2025).
The impact of reduced transaction costs was particularly evident in the ETH/USDT trading pair, which saw a remarkable 35% increase in trading volume, reaching $1.8 billion within the same 24-hour period (Binance, 2025). The ETH/BTC pair also experienced a 22% volume increase, reaching 3,500 BTC in transactions (Kraken, 2025). Additionally, Ethereum’s active addresses rose by 15% to 450,000, signaling heightened network activity and broader user engagement (Glassnode, 2025).
With lower fees incentivizing more trading, Ethereum’s price reacted swiftly. Within the first hour post-gas limit increase, ETH surged by 3.5%, reaching $3,200 at 15:00 UTC (Coinbase, 2025). The ETH/USDT pair followed closely, recording a price increase to $3,195, while ETH/BTC rose to 0.085 BTC (Binance, 2025). Institutional investors, often sensitive to transaction costs, are now more likely to engage with Ethereum, potentially driving further price appreciation. The Ethereum Network Value to Transactions (NVT) ratio also dropped to 42, indicating a healthier balance between network valuation and transaction volume (Santiment, 2025).
A closer look at technical analysis further highlights Ethereum’s bullish momentum. The Relative Strength Index (RSI) for ETH/USD soared to 72, pushing the asset into overbought territory (TradingView, 2025). Simultaneously, the Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) indicator flashed a bullish signal, with a crossover at 15:30 UTC (Coinigy, 2025). On Binance, ETH/USDT trading volume peaked at $2.1 billion by 16:00 UTC, reflecting increased market interest. On-chain data revealed a 25% rise in large transactions exceeding 100 ETH, with 1,500 such transactions recorded in 24 hours (Nansen, 2025). This surge in large-scale trades suggests that institutional investors and high-net-worth individuals are capitalizing on the reduced fees to execute bigger trades.
Ethereum’s gas limit increase also triggered notable effects in the AI-crypto sector. AI-related tokens such as SingularityNET (AGIX) and Fetch.AI (FET) recorded impressive gains, with AGIX jumping 5% to $0.45 and FET climbing 4% to $0.78 within the first hour of the adjustment (KuCoin, 2025). This surge is largely attributed to Ethereum’s reduced transaction fees, making it more cost-efficient for AI projects to operate on the network. The correlation coefficient between ETH and AGIX spiked to 0.85 on February 15, 2025 (CryptoQuant, 2025), reinforcing the growing link between AI developments and the crypto market.
The broader cryptocurrency market responded with heightened optimism, as the Crypto Fear & Greed Index moved from ‘Neutral’ to ‘Greed’ following Ethereum’s gas limit increase (Alternative.me, 2025). This shift reflects increased investor confidence, with many traders seeing Ethereum’s network upgrade as a catalyst for sustained growth. The rising interest in AI tokens, coupled with Ethereum’s trading volume surge, points to an evolving landscape where both sectors continue to influence market dynamics, opening up fresh trading opportunities for investors.
