• NFTs accounted for 28% of the ETH gas usage in January, according to CryptoSlate analysts.
• The second, third, and fourth largest share of gas usage was 8%, 8%, and 6%, respectively, for Defi, ERC20, and stablecoins.
• The categories used to analyze gas usage included Vanilla, ERC20, Stablecoins, DeFi, Bridges, NFTs, MEV Bots, and others.
The Ethereum (ETH) network continues to grow and is becoming increasingly popular among users around the world. As such, CryptoSlate analysts have taken a closer look at the gas usage shares of different transaction categories on the ETH network, and the results show that the Non-Fungible Token (NFT) category accounted for 28% of the total gas usage in the first month of the year.
The analysis divided all transactions on the Ethereum network into eight categories – Vanilla, ERC20, Stablecoins, DeFi, Bridges, NFTs, MEV Bots, and others. The Vanilla category includes pure ETH transfers between Externally Owned Accounts (EOAs) issued without calling any contracts, while the ERC20 class counts all transactions that call ERC20 contracts, excluding stablecoin transactions. Stablecoins, meanwhile, represent all fungible tokens that have their value pegged to an off-chain asset either by the issuer or by an algorithm. This category includes over 150 stablecoins, such as Tether (USDT), USD Coin (USDC), Binance USD (BUSD), and DAI (DAI).
The Defi category covers all on-chain financial instruments and protocols implemented as smart contracts. Decentralized exchanges (DEXs) also fall under this category and more than 90 Defi protocols are represented. The Bridges category includes all transactions that pass through the ETH network from other chains, while the MEV Bots category includes all transactions that exploit front-running to make a profit.
NFTs, however, accounted for the largest share of gas usage by far, with 28%. The Defi, ERC20, and stablecoins categories occupy the second, third, and fourth largest share of gas usage with 8%, 8%, and 6%, respectively. The other categories such as Bridges, MEV Bots, and others made up a combined total of less than 1%.
Overall, the analysis shows that NFTs are the most actively used transaction type on the Ethereum network. This is likely due to the increasing popularity of the DeFi and NFT markets in recent months, with Ethereum being the most popular platform for these activities. With more users entering the space and taking advantage of the Ethereum network’s capabilities, it is likely that the gas usage associated with NFTs will continue to increase in the future.
