The founder of the largest altcoin globally, Vitalik Buterin, has acknowledged the impact of the rising fees associated with the Ethereum network. He expects the fees to be reduced once the network breaks free from the centralization system.
A high fee impedes the decentralization move of the network, and Buterin is quite aware of the high costs of Ethereum’s operation, which he thinks will likely derail the vision of switching to a decentralization model. The rate at which high fees are charged on the network calls for concern, which the founder is making moves to address.
At a round-table discussion with Time Magazine, the founder disclosed that the high fees are getting in the way of the ease of use in the Ethereum network and its move to the Proof-of-Work (PoW) protocol.
Although there are other positive wins, the high fees pose a challenge to Ethereum. Buterin added that applying the financial aspect of operations in the network is overwhelming for its goal.
A Nagging Gas Charge
Buterin believes that if the Ethereum network had done sharding to the network, things would have been easier for Ethereum, but the charges are one burden that needs to be lifted.
As per the founder’s opinion, finding a way to lessen the impact of the gas fees would position Ethereum along the way to a more robust change and market performance. Something drastic must be done to salvage the situation in order to put Ethereum on the stage with the big players.
However, there has been a gradual shift in the high gas expenses on the Ethereum network as available data from the network shows a drop in high exchange fees on the 9th of March, the first in about six months.
Experts believe that the sudden drop in gas fees is due to the emergence and acceptance of non-fungible tokens (NFT) and decentralized finance (DeFi) that have attracted interest from various quarters.
People’s and businesses’ interests have shifted to the NFT and DeFi spaces, so the Ethereum network activities have been significantly down. Not only is Ethereum facing such challenges, but other alternatives have proven to reduce activity considerably.
Proposed PoS Move
Finbold reported that the Ethereum network plans to move to the PoS under an arranged partnership with a yet-to-be-named platform. The expected deal will see Ethereum’s mainnet merged with the Beacon chain PoS protocol.
The update is to scale the Ethereum mainnet to enable it to get the Proof-of-Work (PoW) protocol, while the Beacon Chain is to run simultaneously utilizing the PoS protocol.
For the most part, the planned upgrade is set to place Ethereum on a firm pedestal regarding the issue of gas fees, which would make the operation less costly.
Notwithstanding the concerns of Buterin, Ethereum has been among the top-performing cryptocurrencies in the industry for some time now. If the issue of high fees can be addressed, the network has what it means to outperform other key players in the digital currency ecosystem.
