Ethereum Transaction Fees Have Been Consistently More Expensive Than Bitcoin's Over the Past Few Months, Data Shows

Ethereum users paid higher transaction fees compared to Bitcoin users on average over the past few months, according to data shared by cryptocurrency analytics platform CryptoQuant.

A graph shared by CryptoQuant CEO Ki Young Ju on Thursday showed that Bitcoin's median transaction fees, represented by orange bars, have largely remained in the $0.50 to $3.00 range. Meanwhile, Ethereum's median fees, shown in gray, tend to stay between $3 and $6.

Both the Bitcoin and Ethereum networks started the year with relatively low fees, typically below $3. However, Ethereum's fees have remained higher on average throughout the year.

On Thursday, a total of 400 BTC (roughly $39 million) was mined in 128 blocks. The miners earned only $731,000 in transaction fees. In comparison, Ethereum users paid a total of $3.2 million in fees on Wednesday. The network's median fees saw a 41% decrease over the past 30 days.

The Bitcoin network saw a halving event last year, with the block reward decreasing to just 3.125 BTC. There were concerns that some miners might not be able to continue operating due to lower profits.

In April, Bitcoin fees surged as high as $128 per transaction on average due to the popularity of Runes. However, this spike provided miners with only very short-lived relief. The fees ended up plunging by more than 90% by early May.

Earlier this month, the Financial Times reported that U.S.-based Bitcoin companies had started accumulating Bitcoin to reduce the impact of tightening margins. Despite the fact that the price of Bitcoin has increased significantly, Bitcoin miners are still struggling with profitability. The industry has now spent nearly $2 billion over the past two months on Bitcoin purchases.