Ethereum’s $15.3B Burn Bonfire: Over 4.5M ETH Destroyed Since EIP-1559 Activation

This weekend, data confirms that more than 4.5 million ether (ETH) have been burned on the Ethereum network since Aug. 5, 2021, marking the implementation of Ethereum Improvement Proposal (EIP)-1559.

The Great Ethereum Burn

Approximately three years and four months have passed since the London hard fork was activated, and during that time, 4,523,479.74 ETH has been permanently destroyed. Based on current exchange rates, the value of this burned ether exceeds $15.3 billion. A defining aspect of EIP-1559 is the mechanism that burns a portion of transaction fees, effectively reducing the circulating supply of ether.

Ethereum’s $15.3B Burn Bonfire: Over 4.5M ETH Destroyed Since EIP-1559 Activation

Transactions on Ethereum have been the leading cause of these burns, with onchain transfers responsible for 369,578.08 ETH being removed. Notable contributors to these burns include some well-known platforms. For instance, since Aug. 5, 2021, the second-largest source of burned ETH has been Opensea, with non-fungible token (NFT) minting activities accounting for 230,051.11 ETH destroyed.

Onchain transfers on Ethereum account for approximately 8.17% of the total ether burned, while Opensea NFTs contribute about 5.08% to the total burned ether. ​​The decentralized exchange (dex) platform Uniswap has eliminated 225,723.78 ether (ETH), accounting for 4.99% of the total burned ETH. Meanwhile, tether (USDT) transactions on the Ethereum network have led to the destruction of 205,458.95 ETH, representing 4.54% of the total ETH burned.

EIP-1559’s burning mechanism operates in an unexpected way—it doesn’t simply send ETH to an inaccessible null address. Instead, the base fee, a portion of the transaction fee, is automatically removed from circulation. This process happens directly within the protocol, where the base fee is irretrievably deleted via code, ensuring it is permanently removed from the supply.

Despite approximately 4.5 million ETH burned to date, the data from the web portal ultrasound.money reveals that Ethereum is not deflationary as some had anticipated. Currently, the network’s inflation rate stands at a modest 0.820%, with 3,245,017.99 ETH added to circulation since the London fork.

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