Ethereum miners have been making more revenue than Bitcoin miners over the past few days.
According to The Block’s Data Dashboard, Ethereum miners are now making $77 million in daily revenue, as of Monday, compared to the $67 million that Bitcoin miners are earning. The data is a 7-day moving average (7MDA), meaning it is the average of the last seven days and indicates a short-term trend.
This has happened a few times over the last few months. Ethereum miners saw higher revenues than Bitcoin miners in early February and late April. What’s noticeable is that this is starting to happen more frequently, when it has been a rare occurence over the last few years.
One of the reasons that Ethereum miners are seeing higher revenues is that the price of ether has risen significantly over the last few months. It has continued to rise in the last few weeks while bitcoin’s price has stagnated. After starting the year at $730, one ether is now worth $4,300.
Another key reason is the network’s soaring transaction fees. Ethereum miners earn revenue in a mix of transaction fees — known as gas and paid in ether — and block subsidies for generating new coins.
Currently, 40% of Ethereum miners’ revenue comes from gas fees. But with the Ethereum Improvement Proposal (EIP) 1559 coming into force this July, a portion of the fees will be sent to the network itself instead of miners.
From July, there will be two fees, per the EIP 1599: A base fee and an inclusion fee or a tip for miners. The base fee will be burned, and only the inclusion fee will go to the miners. The overall goal of the EIP is to reduce transaction fees for users.