Ethereum maintained its position as the highest-earning blockchain in 2024, collecting $2.48 billion in transaction fees—up 3% from its $2.41 billion earnings in 2023, according to a recent report by CoinGecko. This growth comes despite the Dencun upgrade in March 2024, which significantly reduced fees for Layer 2 (L2) networks.
Ethereum’s Resilience in Fee Revenue
CoinGecko research analyst Lim Yu Qian highlighted Ethereum’s continued dominance in fee earnings, attributing it to sustained on-chain activity even as users migrated from the mainnet (Layer 1) to L2 solutions.
“Ethereum has continued to lead in fee earnings despite the Dencun upgrade in March 2024, which reduced L2 transaction costs and prompted ongoing user migration from the L1 chain to its L2 scaling solutions,” wrote Lim.
Ethereum’s fee earnings in the first quarter of 2024 alone totaled $1.17 billion—nearly half of its yearly total. The surge in Q1 activity was partly fueled by widespread airdrop programs that drove increased on-chain transactions.
Broader Blockchain Revenue Trends
CoinGecko’s report found that Ethereum was the top-earning blockchain of 2024, followed by Tron, which brought in $2.15 billion—a 116.7% increase from $922.08 million in 2023.
Other notable findings:
- Bitcoin saw a 16% increase in fee earnings compared to 2023.
- Solana experienced a staggering 2,838% growth in fees, jumping from $25 million in 2023 to $750 million in 2024. This spike was driven by a memecoin craze that pushed Solana to a record 100 million active wallets in October.
- Across 21 Layer 1 blockchains, total fees reached $6.6 billion, while Layer 2 blockchains collectively earned $294 million.
Challenges for Ethereum
Despite its robust fee revenue, Ethereum faced criticism over the impact of the Dencun upgrade, which reduced transaction costs for L2 networks. Some analysts suggested that these lower fees could undermine mainnet revenue, potentially affecting the price of its native token, Ether (ETH).
Adding to the tension, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin announced leadership changes to the Ethereum Foundation on January 18, aiming to improve communication between the foundation and ecosystem builders. Days later, Ethereum core developer Eric Conner announced his departure after Buterin dismissed calls for further leadership restructuring, claiming sole authority over the foundation.
The report demonstrates the resilience of Ethereum’s ecosystem and its ability to sustain high fee revenue even amid structural changes. Other blockchains, including Tron and Solana, also posted impressive growth, highlighting a highly competitive environment among Layer 1 and Layer 2 networks.