Ethereum and Tron Lead Blockchain Fee Surge in 2024 Amid Rising Crypto Optimism

• Blockchain fees surged to $6.9 billion in 2024 amid growing crypto optimism.

• Ethereum, Tron, and Bitcoin earned the highest blockchain fees.

• Layer 2 chains secure 4 of the top 10 spots, bringing in $294.92 million.

The year 2024 was pivotal for digital assets, with numerous historical milestones achieved. The latest data shows that blockchains collectively generated $6.9 billion in fees in 2024.

Ethereum led the charge, followed by Tron and Bitcoin, which secured their places in the top three. Additionally, Solana experienced a significant surge in fees.

Ethereum Dominates Blockchain Fee Revenue in 2024

According to CoinGecko’s report, Ethereum generated $2.48 billion from gas fees, marking a 3.0% yearly increase.

“This suggests that Ethereum has continued to lead in fee earnings despite the Dencun upgrade in March 2024 that reduced L2 transaction costs, and the ongoing user migration from the L1 chain to its L2 scaling solutions,” the report noted.

Top blockchains by earnings. Source: CoinGecko

Ethereum’s fee earnings contrasted with its underwhelming price performance, which fell short of expectations in 2024. 

While many cryptocurrencies reached all-time highs this year, ETH was unable to follow suit. Additionally, Ethereum ETFs underperformed compared to Bitcoin, with inflows only picking up in November.

Meanwhile, Tron experienced a remarkable growth spurt, securing $2.15 billion in fees, a 116.7% increase from $922 million in 2023.

The blockchain benefitted from the rising use of stablecoins, with monthly fee earnings climbing from $38 million in January 2023 to a peak of $342 million in December 2024. Tron’s performance surpassed Ethereum’s in the last six months of the year, although it remains to be seen whether it can maintain this lead in 2025.

Bitcoin, in contrast, earned $922 million in fees, reflecting a steady rise in activity, including Ordinal NFTs, BRC-20 tokens, and increasing interest in Bitcoin-based applications.

Solana’s Meteoric Rise

Notably, Solana, known for its high-speed transactions, posted an extraordinary 2,838.0% increase in fee earnings, reaching $750.65 million in 2024.

“Solana was by far the most popular blockchain ecosystem last year, with transaction volume surging to the point of network congestion in April 2024,” the report read.

Its dominance in decentralized exchange (DEX) trading also surged in Q4, with its market share climbing above 30%.

The network also hit a record peak in fees and revenue on January 20. A significant portion of this growth came from the rise of the TRUMP and MELANIA coins. This new milestone followed SOL’s all-time high on January 19, 2025.

While layer 1 blockchains dominated the majority of the fees, contributing $6.6 billion, layer 2’s weren’t left behind, adding $294.92 million. Four of the top 10 highest-earning blockchains were layer 2 solutions—Base, Arbitrum, Linea, and Optimism—surpassing layer 1s like TON in fees.

Base topped the L2s with $84.78 million in gas fees in 2024, benefiting from strong adoption and its Coinbase integration.

Conclusion

The surge in blockchain fees across various platforms elements a growing confidence in the cryptocurrencies space. As major players like Ethereum and Tron continue to innovate and expand their services, observers are keenly looking at how Solana and layer 2 solutions will shape the future of digital transactions. The significant increase in fees is a clear indication of the escalating adoption of blockchain technology, setting the stage for further robust developments in 2025 and beyond.