Ethereum (ETH) Turns Inflationary in 2024, Ending Six Quarters of Deflation
Ethereum (ETH) has experienced a significant shift in its economic model, turning inflationary in the second quarter of 2024, according to CoinGecko. This marks the first time since late 2022 that Ethereum has added more coins to its supply than it has burned.
Burn Statistics and Emissions
As of August 5, 2024, the Ethereum network has burned a total of 465,657 ETH since the start of the year. However, ETH emissions have outpaced these burns, with 540,958 ETH added to the network, resulting in a net increase of 75,301 ETH for 2024.
The implementation of EIP-1559 in June 2021 introduced a mechanism to burn a portion of transaction fees, reducing the overall supply of ETH. Since its inception, a total of 4.36 million ETH have been burned. Despite this, the recent trend has reversed, with Ethereum becoming inflationary again.
Quarterly Analysis
In the first quarter of 2024, Ethereum remained deflationary, with 220,454 ETH emitted and 333,555 ETH burned, leading to a net reduction of 113,100 ETH. However, the second quarter saw a shift, with 228,543 ETH emitted compared to 107,725 ETH burned, resulting in 120,818 ETH being added to the blockchain.
July 2024 recorded the lowest monthly burn of the year, with only 17,114 ETH burned, a 35% decrease from June. In contrast, March 2024 saw the highest monthly burn of the year at 147,620 ETH, though this is significantly lower than the all-time high of 398,061 ETH burned in January 2022 during the peak of the last bull market.
Top ETH Burners
Uniswap remains the largest burner of ETH, having burned a total of 71,915 ETH in 2024. However, its burn rate dropped by 72.4% quarter-on-quarter to 15,031 ETH in Q2 from 54,413 ETH in Q1. ETH transfers were the second-largest contributor, burning 33,538 ETH year-to-date, with a sharp decline of 73.4% from Q1 to Q2.
Tether (USDT) was the third largest burner, with 23,332 ETH burned in 2024, experiencing a 70.9% drop in its burn rate from Q1 to Q2. The fourth largest contributor was Banana Gun, a Telegram trading bot, which burned 11,060 ETH, with a 74.3% decline from Q1 to Q2.
The top ten ETH burners for 2024, from January 1 to August 5, are:
| Rank | Protocol / Method | ETH Burned |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Uniswap | 71,915.2 |
| 2 | ETH Transfers | 33,538.0 |
| 3 | Tether | 23,332.4 |
| 4 | Banana Gun | 11,060.3 |
| 5 | Maestro | 9,554.2 |
| 6 | MetaMask | 9,160.2 |
| 7 | Circle | 6,783.4 |
| 8 | 1inch | 6,484.1 |
| 9 | Scroll | 6,307.9 |
| 10 | MEV Bots | 4,585.4 |
Methodology
The study analyzed Ethereum emissions and burns using data from Dune Analytics and Etherscan, covering the period from January 1, 2024, to August 5, 2024. The top ten methods that burned the most ETH include Uniswap, ETH Transfers, Tether, Maestro, 1inch, MetaMask, Circle USD, MEV Bots, and Scroll.
For the complete report, visit CoinGecko.