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Ethereum transaction costs have fallen to their lowest point in five years. The drop comes as users pull back from the network amid economic concerns, according to data from Santiment, an on-chain analytics platform. Related Reading: Solana Hits Milestone As Canada OKs First Spot ETFs Ethereum Transaction Costs Plummet To Just 17 Cents The average fee to process a transaction on Ethereum now stands at approximately $0.168. This steep decline matches a pattern of reduced activity, with fewer people sending Ether or using smart contracts on the blockchain. Brian Quinlivan, marketing director at Santiment, explained the situation in an April 17 blog post. Market Uncertainty Keeps Traders On Sidelines According to Quinlivan, low network fees often appear before price rebounds. However, many traders seem to be waiting for global economic questions to clear up before they return to their normal trading patterns. ???????? BREAKING: Ethereum fees are at a 5-year low, with transactions currently costing just $0.168. This is the cheapest daily cost of making $ETH transfers since May 2, 2020. We briefly break this down in our latest insight. ????https://t.co/fg5CfRgsHn pic.twitter.com/QlLwyzdm1F — Santiment (@santimentfeed) April 16, 2025 Hesitation continues after market worries that had started from April 2 with US President Trump announcing sweeping tariffs. Traditional markets turned out to be hit alongside cryptocurrency, where most assets languish below pre-announcement values. Pectra Upgrade Set For Launch On May 7 Despite this market crisis, Ethereum development is on the move. Pectra is finally scheduled to go live on May 7 after some delays owing to the configuration hiccups as well as an unknown attacker causing problems during the testnet trials. The first part of Pectra will bring numerous enhancements to the network such as an increase to layer-2 blob capacity from three to six, transaction fee reduction, alleviation of network congestion, and also allow users to pay fees with stablecoins like USDC and DAI. The upgrade will also increase the maximum staking limit from 32 ETH to a much larger 2,048 ETH. A second phase planned for late 2025 or early 2026 will add new data structures for better storage efficiency. It will also create a system that helps nodes verify transaction data without storing the entire dataset. Long-Term Holders Begin Selling Positions Meanwhile, data from Lookonchain shows that long-term Ethereum holders are now selling their positions, even after holding through previous market cycles. These sales are happening in the $1,500 to $1,700 price range. After holding $ETH for 11 months, this guy capitulated and sold all 1,160 $ETH($1.83M) at a loss of $2.6M(-58.6%)! 11 months ago, he withdrew 1,160 $ETH($4.43M) from #OKX at $3,816, and deposited it to #OKX at $1,580 ~30 minutes ago, losing $2.6M(-58.6%).… pic.twitter.com/Cl0ebXie1f — Lookonchain (@lookonchain) April 16, 2025 The selling activity has created mixed signals for market watchers. Some analysts view this as a warning sign of a potential sell-off ahead. Others believe it could lead to market stabilization. Related Reading: Is Shiba Inu On Track To Dethrone Dogecoin? Here’s What The Experts Say This selling comes at an interesting time, with network usage at multi-year lows but major technical upgrades on the horizon. Based on Quinlivan’s assessment, reduced retail interest combined with ongoing development could create conditions for “an eventual surprise rebound with little resistance.” Ethereum price has dipped by more than 11% over the last two weeks. Based on figures from CoinMarketCap, this cryptocurrency is now trading just below $1,600. The price has remained unchanged over the last 24 hours. Featured image from Capital One, chart from TradingView
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XRP’s Potential Rally Faces Challenges Amid Mixed Market Sentiment and Declining On-Chain Activity
XRP is experiencing a bullish wave driven by significant market activities and technical indicators, creating optimism among investors. Despite a recent price drop, on-chain metrics and liquidity inflows suggest a NewsBTC
Bitcoin Stalls at $84K, But Analyst Says 2025 Could Mirror Last Year’s Breakout
Despite broader market interest, Bitcoin continues to hover near the $84,000 mark, showing limited upward momentum. At the time of writing, the asset is trading at $84,596, down 0.1% in the last 24 hours. This places BTC approximately 22% below its all-time high of over $109,000 set earlier this year. The price action follows a recovery from earlier lows but remains range-bound, suggesting hesitancy among investors as macroeconomic uncertainties persist. One of the emerging observations comes from CryptoQuant analyst Crypto Dan, who compared Bitcoin’s current behavior to past correction cycles. Related Reading: Bitcoin Sentiment Still Close To Extreme Fear—Green Sign For Recovery? Speculation Eases, Setting the Stage for Potential Recovery In Dan’s recent QuickTake post titled “Cryptocurrency Market, Similar to the 2024 Correction Period,” Dan assessed the speculative dynamics of the market through the lens of short-term holder activity. His analysis suggests that the recent cooling-off period might mirror patterns observed during last year’s correction phase. According to Dan, one reliable gauge of market overheating is the percentage of Bitcoin supply held for one week to one month. When this metric rises, it often signals speculative enthusiasm, which can precede corrections. During previous bullish phases, such increases in short-term holdings were followed by pullbacks, marking peaks in investor exuberance. In the current cycle, Dan notes that this metric has once again reached a region previously associated with market bottoms—the same yellow box (on the chart shared) that aligned with the 2024 correction low. Based on this, he posits that speculative excesses have largely subsided, opening the door to renewed price growth if macroeconomic conditions continue to improve. However, he also emphasized that further consolidation may still occur before a broader trend shift materializes. Crypto Market, Similar to the 2024 Correction “Given that this ratio has now reached the yellow-box region, which was the bottom of the 2024 correction period, it seems likely that the current market will follow a similar path as the 2024 correction.” – By @DanCoinInvestor pic.twitter.com/YGNZxQnUXj — CryptoQuant.com (@cryptoquant_com) April 18, 2025 Bitcoin Whale Activity Suggests Imminent Volatility Complementing this analysis, CryptoQuant contributor Mignolet pointed out a notable shift in coin movement behavior. In a separate post, he observed that around 170,000 BTC recently moved from the 3–6 month holding cohort. This group typically includes mid-term holders, and substantial activity from them has historically preceded increased price volatility. Related Reading: Bitcoin’s Futures Sentiment Weakens, Is The Ongoing Recovery Running Out of Steam? Mignolet illustrated his findings with data, noting that such movements have often signaled major price action, both upward and downward. Green box indicators on his chart marked rallies, while red boxes highlighted periods of decline. While the direction remains uncertain, he highlighted that the increased activity is an early warning sign that traders should be alert for a breakout or breakdown in the near future. Featured image created with DALL-E, Chart from TradingView NewsBTC
