Ether prices are rising, supported by robust Decentralized Finance (DeFi) output. Considering that it didn’t exist a few years ago, the overall ecosystem value rose almost 90 trillion dollars, an outstanding performance.  Maker, Aave, and Compound TVL have increased to over $10 billion, with over 17 projects having TVLs over $1 billion.

ETH prices are also increasing as investors expect the most recent US inflation. In general, there are predictions that the price of supply shortages, higher commodities, and the current stimulus would dramatically increase in April. Yet, several analysts predict that in the coming months, these prices will begin to decline. Because of its effect on US interest rates, inflation is significant for the Ethereum price.

2%-5% of DeFi Transactions are Failing

DeFi applications were launched in 2020 and presented the flourishing fintech space’s new capabilities. In early 2021, NFTs erupted on the stage, catching investors’ high-profile sales of several million dollars.

However, research in dune analysis found that 2%–5% of ETH transactions failed due to complications like slippage or inadequate gas prices, the fee needed for the effective conduct of an ethereum blockchain transaction.

Users made approximately 1.1 million transactions between 15 April and 21 April on Uniswap (a DeFi protocol used to exchange cryptocurrencies).  Data from the analytical platforms Etherscan and Dune Analytics showed that 241,262 failed, reflecting the most significant number of transaction failures in the entire ether network.

“DeFi is equipped for meteoric advancement, but growth is inherently risky,” says Alex Wearn, IDEX Crypto Exchange Chief Executive. Learn estimates that DeFi hacks account for over $285 million this year.

Ethereum Scalability Issues

The network’s inability to satisfy demand without paying high transaction fees and sluggish transactions is also threatening Ethereum, market participants said.

The first phase of the Ethereum 2.0 update introduced last year aims to tackle the network’s technological problems regarding speed, reliability, and scalability. John Wu, president of AVA Labs, a financial software open-source platform, said that developers intended for years to migrate to Ethereum 2.0.

He said that the timelines had been delayed quite often, so it’s hard to feel secure with what is unknown.

Ethereum Competition

The Ethereum gas prices (fees paid to miners for processing transactions) increased from 11.58 a year ago to 71.84, with sometimes rising to 700. That has led developers to launch Ethereum-based alternatives with lower fees that can run NFTs and DeFi applications.

For example, the Avalanche and Binance Smart Chain from AVA Labs are compatible with Ethereum properties and applications. Data from AVA Labs indicates that users have transferred over $170 million from Ethereum to Avalanche since February.