What lowered ETH L2 fees?

TLDR

Ethereum (ETH) layer?2 fees fell mainly because the Dencun upgrade introduced blob data that made rollup data availability much cheaper, with reported fee cuts near 90% Dencun upgrade reduced fees.

1. Blobs from Dencun slashed rollup costs, triggering L2 fee wars and margin compression Dencun reduction.
2. Subsequent upgrades (Pectra, Fusaka) increased capacity via higher gas limits and PeerDAS, further lowering effective L2 costs capacity upgrades.
3. With L1 capacity up and fees around $0.17 lately, L2s could stay cheap while usage rose lower L1 fees.

Deep Dive

1. Blobs Cut Rollup Data Costs

The Dencun upgrade delivered blob?carrying transactions (EIP?4844), a cheaper data lane for rollups that dramatically reduced data availability costs and user fees fee reduction near 90%.

1. As rollups shifted to blobs, their payments to Ethereum L1 fell sharply, reflecting cheaper settlement and DA costs L2 payments drop.
2. Lower end?user fees helped usage grow without clogging L1, but also reduced fee burn pressure on ETH supply usage up, fees down.

2. Capacity Upgrades Sustained Low Fees

After Dencun, Ethereum increased block capacity and improved data availability, reinforcing cheaper L2 pricing even at higher throughput gas limit and PeerDAS.

1. The gas limit rose from 45 million to 60 million, allowing more computation and data per block, which helps keep costs down when traffic grows gas limit increased.
2. PeerDAS improved data availability sampling for blobs, enabling more blobs without straining nodes and stabilizing rollup costs PeerDAS context.

3. Observed Fees and Competitive Pressure

With L1 average fees recently around $0.17 and record transaction counts, L2s stayed competitive and cheap for users recent low L1 fees.

1. Cheaper L1 and blob capacity fostered L2 fee competition, compressing operator margins as networks vied for users fee wars and margins.
2. L2 payments to L1 fell, confirming a structural shift in rollup economics toward lower end?user fees and different value capture payments fell sharply.

Conclusion

ETH L2 fees were lowered by blobs from Dencun and reinforced by capacity upgrades such as higher gas limits and PeerDAS. These changes cut rollup data costs, kept fees low even as usage rose, and reshaped both rollup economics and ETHs fee?burn dynamics.