Ethereum L1 transfer fees have recently witnessed a significant drop. In this respect, the Layer 1 transfer fees are currently standing near the all-time low levels. As per the data from Xave Meegan, this denotes a noteworthy shift for the Ethereum ecosystem following years-long congestion-led criticism. As a result of this, the long-time crypto traders are reconsidering their activity on the base layer of Ethereum.

Ethereum L1 transaction fees are near all-time low.

Most people hated the high fees in Ethereum L1 from beginning of DeFi Summer in 2020 and moved to L2s.

Now that fees are low again on the L1, I’m starting to use it more consistently for the first time since 2020.

If Ethereum… pic.twitter.com/ZHH6n0aB2j

— Xave Meegan (@0xave) January 16, 2026

Ethereum L1 Fees Dip to Near-Bottom Levels, Sparking Market-Wide Interest

The market data points out that the plunge in Ethereum’s L1 fees near the bottom levels has triggered market-wide speculations. Particularly, during 2020 in the DeFi sector, the rising gas fees led many developers and users toward L2 scaling solutions. Nonetheless, the latest development could serve as a key move to bring back a significant number of participants to Ethereum L1.

Previously, Base, Optimism, Arbitrum, and other such L2 ecosystems gained notable traction, consuming a major amount of on-chain activity. Nevertheless, the recent plunge in L1 gas fees is an attempt to reverse the respective trend. In this respect, growing the accessibility of the Ethereum base layer to a broader range of consumers is a key driving force.

Apart from that, this development is not taking place in isolation. It reflects the wider on-chain data that backs the observation of minimized transfer costs. At the same time, the analytics entities like Token Terminal also underscore a massive rise in the transfer volume. Particularly, based on the latest 7-day statistics, the weekly Ethereum transaction volume has eventually surged past the $12M mark, indicating a landmark development.

Transfer Volume Surpasses $12M, Median Fees Remain Below $0.02

According to Xave Meegan, despite the growth of transfer volume of Ethereum above $12M, the median transaction fees are still below the $0.02 mark. Such an attractive outlook has also tempted Meegan. Thus, he reportedly plans to get additional liquidity on Layer 1 following several years. He also thinks that the continuation of this trend could trigger a genuine renaissance for Ethereum L1. Moreover, assets and pools on Layer 1 are additionally going through continuous improvement to help in establishing a stable and diversified portfolio.