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Ethereum[1] is days away from one of the most important system upgrades since its inception. The London hard fork, the implementation of EIP-1559, is expected to completely change the monetary and economic model of Ether and its network.

These changes are expected to take place after the commencement of the hard fork on 4 August. However, there have been other changes too, each of which has transpired over time for the altcoin.

The issue of transaction fees

One of the most discussed changes expected out of EIP-1559 is that ETH’s transaction fees will become relatively stable. Any entity wanting to conduct a transaction on the Ethereum[2] network is required to pay a “gas fee.” The same is to be paid in Ether, to miners, to process these transactions. During the 2020-2021 bull run, these fees skyrocketed.

Source: Ycharts

In fact, according to the attached chart,[3] the transaction fee was as high as $71 at one point. However, that aspect might end up being tackled before the hard fork itself.

Over the past few weeks, the gas fees for ETH[4] transactions have drastically dropped on the charts. Now, many have suggested that this was due to the bearish market.

Source: Spencer Noon

However, a contradictory argument is that DeFi applications are still rampant. UNI[5] and AAVE[6] registered strong on-chain performances over the past few weeks, and major functionality within these assets rely on the utility of Ether. For both June and July, the Ethereum network’s fees were already under the yearly average. Such a healthy fee market allows for a stronger security budget for Ethereum.

Investment and trading are not the only ways to profit from Ethereum anymore

ETH held on Exchanges

Source: Glassnode

A common bullish argument

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