At press time, gas fees on Ethereum were 47 gwei, and the estimated cost of an ERC-20 transfer was about $10.25. Lower than usual, yes, but still a difficult cost to justify for many users and developers.
Fortunately, there is a growing answer to this problem – Ethereum stacks, or Layer 2 solutions that aim to lower transaction costs. What is more, even traditional institutions are interested in these developments.
“Roll” out the red carpet
Both crypto watchers and more traditional investors took note when Ethereum’s software company ConsenSys announced its ConsenSys Rollups, created with the help of Mastercard’s engineering expertise. ConsenSys’ official press release noted,
“Solutions built with ConsenSys Rollups can currently achieve throughput of up to 10,000 transactions per second (TPS) on a private chain while only 300 TPS can be achieved on private chains and 15 on the Ethereum mainnet.”
But the pertinent question is – why Ethereum? Won’t private users in the future worry about the spillover effects of Ethereum’s fees?
Feel gassy
While the exorbitant transaction fees can be a pain for everyday Ethereum users, Ethereum co-founder and ConsenSys founder Joe Lubin saw them in a more optimistic light. In a fireside conversation in December, Lubin said:
“High gas fees are a measure of success. They’re a growth pain, they’re something that can’t be avoided.”
In addition, other investors are also interested. Ether Capital Corporation has announced that it has wagered over $ 50 million, or 10,240 ETH to be exact. CEO Brian Mosoff explained,
“Our commitment to staking on Ethereum reflects our confidence in Ether as an asset and Ethereum as a network.”
Obviously, high gas costs are not a deal breaker for everyone. But on top of that, the stacks offer the hope of achieving both network efficiency and increased growth. According to a report from Arcane Research, stacks like Arbitrum One and Optimism have reduced fees by 90% or more. However, these projects are still in their infancy and need to accelerate.
So it would seem that ConsenSys and Mastercard made their announcement at an opportune moment.
Expelled from Ethereum
In mid-November, Iranian students who were preparing to take notes at the ConsenSys Academy instead learned that their registration had been suspended and that they would no longer have access to the platform.
The students reportedly received an email telling them that they were in a “blocked jurisdiction” under US law, and hence they couldn’t take part in the ConsenSys Academy program.
