Ethereum Gas Fees Skyrockets Over 1,900% After Binance Activates Dormant Wallets

Cryptocurrency exchange Binance inadvertently sparked a 1,900% surge in Ethereum ETH/USD gas fees following a sudden wave of transactions involving dormant wallets.

What Happened: A report from FXStreet noted that a Binance-affiliated wallet, known as Binance 14, experienced a sudden surge in transactions. This unexpected activity led to a rise in Ethereum gas fees from 15 to nearly 300 Gwei, and P2P transactions jumped from an average of 40 cents to about $10, according to data from Dune Analytics.

Data from Etherscan revealed that Binance 14 received Ether from wallets that had been inactive for almost three years. These transfers, which took place within a 20-minute window, triggered a spike in Ethereum gas fees, with the recipient wallet spending over $840,000 in Ether gas fees in a single day.

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Why It Matters: Binance explained that these transfers were part of a “routine consolidation” of ETH to one of its wallets and that the resulting increase in gas fees was an “unintentional but quickly resolved” consequence. Nevertheless, the move drew criticism from traders who questioned the decision to bundle the transactions, which led to network congestion and higher fees.

The incident has put Binance 14 among the top 50 gas guzzlers, adding fuel to the ongoing controversies surrounding Binance.

Photo by Primakov on Shutterstock

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