Ethereum Failed Transactions: You Won’t Believe How Much Users Have Lost

The Ethereum network has usually been criticized for the number of failed transactions that occur on it and how it leads to users losing their money as a result of this. This onslaught was recently renewed after a figure in the crypto community showed the staggering amount that has been lost from failed transactions.

ETH Users Lose Over 100,000 To Failed Transactions

In a post on his X (formerly Twitter) platform, the Marketing and Communications Director of Blockstream, Fernando Nikolić, shared a screenshot that showed that Ethereum users had lost over $100,000 due to failed transactions. Interestingly, the $100,000 value happened to be only for the top 10 transactions in the screenshot, with Nikolić noting that there were other ones.

From the screenshot, one can see how a particular user lost over $38,000 in gas fees from a single transaction. The second user on the list lost over $17,000 in gas fees, with others on the list also losing thousands of dollars in gas fees despite the fact that the transaction failed. Usually, gas fees paid on the Ethereum network are gone forever, irrespective of whether the transactions succeed or fail. 

Noteworthily, eight out of the transactions from the screenshot occurred back in May during the period of the frenzy around the meme coin PEPE, which caused an unusual surge in traffic on the Ethereum network.

Failed transactions are known to occur rampantly during such periods because a surge in activity on the network leads to a significant increase in gas fees, with some users falling short of the required gas fee (at the point of executing their trade) needed to process a transaction, which causes it to fail. 

Ethereum price chart from Tradingview.com

Coordinated Attack On Ethereum?

In his post, Nikolić referred to the failed transactions on the Ethereum network as “hot garbage.” Although his post could just be about a concerned member of the crypto community calling out the network, it bears mentioning that he happens to be the second Bitcoin maximalist calling out the network in the space of a week. 

Another Bitcoin maximalist, Bit Paine, had earlier suggested that the network was a scam. The crypto pundit hinted that the Ethereum network has helped facilitate the creation of several “digital penny” stocks, which he also referred to as unregistered securities

However, both statements could be unrelated and simply two astute members of the Bitcoin community, showing why they believe Bitcoin remains supreme

At the time of writing, Ethereum is trading above $1,800, up in the last 24 hours, according to data from CoinMarketCap. 

Ethereum Devs Try To Leverage Price Surge As Smart Contracts Reach New High

Ethereum rallied with the rest of the crypto market, reaching above $1,500 to land at a new one-month high. As the market rallied, developers had roused from their slumber looking to take advantage of the renewed interest in the market. This saw the number of new smart contracts deployed on the network reach new 2022 highs.

Devs Bring The Heat

Through 2022, the number of new smart contracts being deployed on the Ethereum network had been on the decline. This decline is understandable given that the market had entered another stretched-out crypto winter and investors were no longer willing to take as many risks as they did back in 2021.

Developers had to shelve some of their projects as they waited for better market conditions to launch, which was provided by the market recovery. New smart contracts were deployed rapidly in the last week, leading to a new all-time high in 2022. 

In this 7-day period, there have been more than 35,000 new Ethereum contracts deployed. The deployment rate of these new contracts has followed the market through its recovery. As prices are high, investors are more likely to put money into new projects. Hence the willingness of developers to put their contracts into the market. 

Ethereum new smart contracts

New smart contracts surge | Source: CryptoQuant

Daily active addresses on the network also recorded an uptick during this time. It is up about 25% in the last week, although it is far from reaching its 2022 all-time high of 934,000 active addresses back in July. Accordingly, the transaction count also saw an increase during this time.

Can Ethereum Hold Up?

Even with the marked increase in activity on the network, it has not been enough to hold up the price of Ethereum. The digital asset which had reached a peak just below $1,600 on Thursday had begun to quickly shed its gains ahead of the opening of trading hours on Friday.

Ethereum price chart on TradingView.com

ETH price loses footing above $1,500 | Source: ETHUSD on TradingView.com

Ethereum had lost almost 4% of its value in the last 24 hours, which dragged its price down below $1,500. Support that had been mounting at this level had proven to not be sustainable and bears had broken through the barrier without much hassle.

Exchange inflows for the cryptocurrency are on the rise in the last day with a 0.5% increase. This indicates mounting sell pressure on the market. However, with outflows growing just as rapidly, Ethereum investors seem to be carrying out a balancing act at this junction.

The 50-day moving average points towards hold for ETH at this point.  The next significant resistance level now lies at $1,570. As the market goes into the weekend which is always marked by low volatility, it is hard to pinpoint where the price could swing.

Featured image from The Coin Republic, chart from TradingView.com

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