​Wait, wasn't Ethereum supposed to have fixed this?

Transaction fees on Ethereum (which are called gas fees, for whatever reason) have gone up 50% of the last two weeks.

Users are now paying ~$4.52 per transaction (imagine getting dinged with those kind of fees in the real world!).

But, ah...wasn't Ethereum's 'Merge' update supposed to fix this?

We hate to tell you this, but:

They got us on a technicality!

The Merge update set the ground work for lowered transaction fees to be possible.

I.e. they got all the tools and gear needed to fix the proverbial 'hole in the dry wall' - but they didn't actually fix it.

And get this:

Ethereum probably won't be the ones responsible for fixing it in the end. They're leaving it to the likes of Polygon and Loopring to build out those 'layer 2' solutions.

Basically, if Ethereum were an iPhone, Polygon and Loopring's technology would be like Venmo.

(A low-fee payment app, built on top of the iPhone's operating system).

Currently both projects are working on Zk EVM Rollups, a stupidly named technology that fits thousands of transactions, where only one used to be.

Need an analogy?

Think of Ethereum like a jumbo jet with only one passenger (costly, and inefficient).

Zk EVM Rollups pack that jet to the rafters - no seats, no cargo holds - just a flying human sardine can.

Why is this so important?

Once this problem is solved, Ethereum can continue its mission of essentially becoming 'Web3's operating system.'