THE FEATURE Ethereum's Growing Gas Crisis (And What's Being Done to Stop It) Ethereum is in the midst of a "gas crisis."
At least, that's according to Taylor Monahan, CEO of MyCrypto, who took to Twitter this week to remind users of best practices for setting transaction fees when using the world's second-largest blockchain. The words of concern are warranted – because of changing conditions on the network, there's a possibility users of the startup's wallet software are overpaying for transactions.
In total, ethereum users spent 5,862 ether, or $2.7 million, to send transactions on Monday, an all-time high according to available network data. The culprit? A single exchange, China-based FCoin, appears to be congesting the blockchain with a controversial business model.
"It's [good to remember] what gas actually is, how it works, and why it's necessary… and why this situation is unnecessary," Monahan tweeted.
A measure of computational effort, the price of gas (effectively what users pay to use the network) fluctuates according to demand. And that demand appears to be escalating to unprecedented levels. While December saw a popular digital cat breeding game CryptoKitties overwhelm the network, cumulative gas expenses at that time were less than half of this week's new heights.
"Gas prices not looking good right now," warned Eth Gas Station. | 
