The most significant change to the Ethereum blockchain since 2015 that went into effect Thursday shows the network is well-poised to make an even bigger upgrade to reduce its energy use by 99%, according to its inventor Vitalik Buterin.
The world’s most-used blockchain updated its software, known as the London hard fork, that includes a fee reduction feature called EIP 1559. The fee cut already eliminated $2 million worth of its native cryptocurrency Ether in only a few hours since taking effect, according to tracking website ultrasound.money. That could put upward pressure on the price of Ether going forward.
