According to on-chain data, Ethereum's fee-burning mechanism has obliterated more than 6 million ETH — valued at over $18 billion at current exchange rates — since the London hard fork introduced EIP-1559 on August 5, 2021. This milestone comes hot on the heels of the Fusaka upgrade, which dramatically expanded the network's data and gas capacity.
The London Upgrade and EIP-1559: Genesis of the Burn
The London hard fork in August 2021 brought EIP-1559, a full overhaul of Ethereum's transaction fee mechanics. The dynamic base fee is now automatically burned with every block, permanently removed from circulation. Designed to make ETH deflationary during periods of high activity while smoothing fee volatility, the mechanism has erased 6.1 million ETH worth approximately $18 billion over the past four years and four months.
Fusaka Upgrade: Gas Fees Fall to Record Lows
Ethereum recently completed the Fusaka upgrade, which raised block gas limits and blob space, allowing each block to carry more call data and rollup blobs. This upgrade has significantly reduced Layer 2 (L2) fees and also helped ease Layer 1 (L1) gas costs. As of December 7, 2025, Ethereum's low-priority fee hovered near 0.305 gwei, while high-priority fees sat around 0.326 gwei. Transfer costs now range from $0.005 to $0.02, and smart contract operations such as swaps, NFT sales, or bridging cost between $0.14 and $0.50 per action.
Burn Sources Ranking: Blob Fees Top the List
Data from ultrasound.money reveals that blob fees have become the largest source of ETH burning, accounting for 1,492,094 ETH destroyed. Traditional ETH transfers follow with 377,388 ETH burned. The NFT marketplace OpenSea has incinerated 230,051.12 ETH, while decentralized exchange Uniswap v2 accounts for 227,337.27 ETH. Tether (USDT) usage has eliminated 211,342.55 ETH, and Uniswap v1 rounds out the top five with 153,585.62 ETH burned since 2021.
Despite Massive Burns, Ethereum Remains Inflationary
Despite the 6.1 million ETH burned, the network's supply has grown by approximately 4,065,657 ETH since the London fork, resulting in an annual inflation rate of 0.800%. Under proof-of-stake (PoS), issuance is far lower than what would have been under proof-of-work (PoW). Simulated data indicates that if Ethereum were still on PoW, the annual inflation rate would be 3.499%, and an additional 16,931,820 ETH would have been added to circulation. PoS has kept issuance on a tighter leash, but supply continues to creep upward, reminding the market that deflation is not automatic.
Outlook
Ethereum's burn mechanism has destroyed billions in value, but the balance between network activity and staking issuance has yet to tip into deflation. The Fusaka upgrade's fee reduction could spur higher on-chain activity and more burning. However, achieving true deflation will require either significantly higher activity levels or lower new issuance. Market participants will continue to monitor Ethereum's supply dynamics closely.