Behind the Surge in Ethereum Gas Prices: MEV Activities May Be the Main Reason

The Ethereum network has recently seen a continuous rise in Gas fees, attracting widespread attention in the market. Data shows that since May 5, the average daily Gas price for Ethereum has exceeded 100 Gwei for several consecutive days, reaching a high not seen in nearly a year. Meanwhile, the number of on-chain transactions has remained relatively stable. So, what exactly is driving this round of Gas price increases?

After comprehensive analysis of on-chain transaction data, block validation node data, and MEV transaction data, it was found that:

1. The average Gas price of Ethereum has risen by 40.20% this month, and has accumulated a rise of 499.54% this year.

2. The total amount of fees actually paid daily continues to grow, with a single-day fee total increase of 29.60% this month, and a cumulative increase of 456.57% this year.

3. The number of active Ethereum nodes has reached approximately 565,100, an increase of 3,441 this month. This may lead to a decline in staking yields, prompting more nodes to adopt MEV. In just one month, the number of new MEV-Boost relay nodes has increased by 66,000, totaling 144,600 added this year.

4. The number of blocks proposed by non-MEV nodes has decreased to 757, down 20.15% from the beginning of the month and down 51.88% from a month ago. An increasing number of blocks are proposed by nodes that adopt MEV. Currently, the combined number of blocks proposed by the four major MEV-Boost Relayers accounts for 76.42% of the total for the day.

5. Recently, the number of blocks proposed by multiple MEV-Boost Relayers has increased, with Ultra Sound experiencing a growth of 80.83% in the past month, which is a significant increase.

6. In the past month, traders have earned a total MEV profit of approximately $13.0142 million through arbitrage, sandwich trading, and liquidation, with a total of 347,100 occurrences. The number of trades increased by 106.01% compared to a month ago, and the total profit rose by 1943.50%.

7. Sandwich trading is currently the main MEV method, with a total profit of approximately $9.9267 million in the last month, accounting for 76.28%. Since this month, the daily profit from sandwich trading has accounted for over 61%.

Although MEV has some negative effects on the market, it may also expand transaction scales and promote the development of DeFi. In 2022, MEV bots contributed approximately 49% of the trading volume for decentralized exchanges, totaling $328 billion. MEV has become an indispensable part of the DeFi ecosystem, and users need to gain a deeper understanding of MEV in order to make more informed trading decisions.