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Blockchain transaction fee and Ethereum Merge

Author

Listed:
  • Jain, Archana
  • Jain, Chinmay
  • Krystyniak, Karolina

Abstract

We study the determinants of transaction fees in the Bitcoin and Ethereum blockchains, particularly focusing on the recent Merge – Ethereum's transition from a Proof-of-Work to a Proof-of-Stake consensus mechanism. Using multivariate regression analysis, we find that blockchain fees in USD increase with network congestion, measured by the mempool count, in a non-linear manner as hypothesized by Huberman et al. (2021). Additionally, the fees are positively influenced by the respective native currency's returns over the past six months. The Merge resulted in a fee reduction for both Bitcoin and Ethereum blockchains.

Suggested Citation

  • Jain, Archana & Jain, Chinmay & Krystyniak, Karolina, 2023. "Blockchain transaction fee and Ethereum Merge," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 58(PC).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:finlet:v:58:y:2023:i:pc:s1544612323008796
    DOI: 10.1016/j.frl.2023.104507
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Jonathan Chiu & Thorsten V Koeppl, 2019. "Blockchain-Based Settlement for Asset Trading," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 32(5), pages 1716-1753.
    2. Tim Roughgarden, 2020. "Transaction Fee Mechanism Design for the Ethereum Blockchain: An Economic Analysis of EIP-1559," Papers 2012.00854, arXiv.org.
    3. Elie Kapengut & Bruce Mizrach, 2023. "An Event Study of the Ethereum Transition to Proof-of-Stake," Commodities, MDPI, vol. 2(2), pages 1-15, March.
    4. Andrews, Donald W K, 1991. "Heteroskedasticity and Autocorrelation Consistent Covariance Matrix Estimation," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 59(3), pages 817-858, May.
    5. Anil Donmez & Alexander Karaivanov, 2022. "Transaction fee economics in the Ethereum blockchain," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 60(1), pages 265-292, January.
    6. Easley, David & O'Hara, Maureen & Basu, Soumya, 2019. "From mining to markets: The evolution of bitcoin transaction fees," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 134(1), pages 91-109.
    7. Gur Huberman & Jacob D Leshno & Ciamac Moallemi, 2021. "Monopoly without a Monopolist: An Economic Analysis of the Bitcoin Payment System [Blockchain Economics]," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 88(6), pages 3011-3040.
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Blockchain; Bitcoin; Transaction fees; Ethereum Merge; Proof-of-Stake;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G10 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - General (includes Measurement and Data)
    • G14 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Information and Market Efficiency; Event Studies; Insider Trading

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