The decentralized finance (DeFi) boom has significantly boosted Ethereum miners’ earnings, with on-chain data revealing that miners collected a staggering 450,089 ETH—worth approximately $1.687 billion—in network fees during September alone. This represents a 39% month-over-month increase, even as ETH’s price remained relatively stable. In contrast, Bitcoin miners saw their fee income drop by nearly 50%, highlighting a major shift in mining profitability.
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Why Ethereum Mining Became More Profitable Than Bitcoin
According to data from Glassnode, Ethereum’s transaction fee surge was driven by explosive growth in DeFi usage. While Bitcoin transaction fees declined from $39 million in August to $26 million in September, Ethereum miners pocketed over $113 million in fees the previous month**, rising to **$168.7 million in September.
F2Pool, one of the largest cryptocurrency mining pools, reported that Ethereum mining is now three times more profitable than Bitcoin mining—a rare occurrence given BTC’s typically dominant hash rate and reward structure.
This shift reflects growing demand for block space on the Ethereum network, primarily fueled by DeFi protocols such as Uniswap, Aave, and Compound. Users interacting with these platforms must pay gas fees in ETH to execute trades, lend assets, or stake tokens—fees that go directly to miners.
The DeFi Boom: Fueling Demand and Network Congestion
DeFi isn’t just reshaping how people access financial services—it’s also reinforcing Ethereum’s utility and creating new demand for ETH itself. As the native currency used to pay for computation and transactions, ETH has become essential infrastructure within the DeFi ecosystem.
Moreover, the migration of Bitcoin into Ethereum’s ecosystem through wrapped tokens like WBTC and RenBTC has further intensified network usage. Over $1 billion worth of BTC has been tokenized on Ethereum via WBTC alone, enabling Bitcoin holders to participate in yield farming and liquidity pools.
This influx of capital and users has led to record-breaking activity:
- The number of active Ethereum addresses continues to climb.
- MetaMask, the most popular Ethereum wallet for DeFi interactions, reached 1 million monthly active users in September.
- Network hash rate hit an all-time high on October 7, signaling increased miner participation and network security.
These fundamentals point to strong underlying demand and growing confidence in Ethereum’s role as the backbone of decentralized applications.
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High Fees: A Double-Edged Sword for Ethereum
While rising fees benefit miners, they also expose Ethereum’s long-standing scalability challenges. At its peak in early September, the average cost of a standard Ethereum transaction reached $15, according to Blockchair—a prohibitive amount for small transactions or retail users.
Such high costs create a paradox:
- Miners profit: More transaction volume and higher bids mean greater rewards.
- Users suffer: Ordinary participants may be priced out of DeFi opportunities, especially those seeking lower-yield strategies or micro-investments.
In fact, some analysts believe these unsustainable fees contributed to the sharp correction in DeFi token prices observed last month. As participation barriers rise, user growth stalls, threatening the very ecosystem driving Ethereum’s current momentum.
Can Layer 2 and Ethereum 2.0 Save the Network?
Several solutions aim to address scalability:
- Layer 2 protocols (e.g., Optimism, Arbitrum) offer off-chain processing with lower fees but see limited adoption due to complexity and fragmented liquidity.
- Ethereum 2.0, which promises a transition to proof-of-stake and sharding, remains years away from full deployment.
Until these upgrades are fully realized, competitors like Binance Smart Chain (now BNB Chain) are capitalizing on Ethereum’s congestion by offering faster, cheaper alternatives—drawing developers and users away.
Will DeFi Continue to Drive Ethereum Forward?
Despite concerns about regulation and potential overheating, DeFi remains one of the most compelling use cases for blockchain technology. It has proven that open, permissionless financial systems can operate at scale—even if current infrastructure struggles to keep up.
For Ethereum to maintain its leadership position, it must:
- Accelerate the rollout of scalable solutions.
- Reduce transaction costs without compromising decentralization.
- Support innovation in NFTs, DAOs, and other emerging trends built on its platform.
Otherwise, it risks losing market share to more agile blockchains designed for efficiency.
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Q: How much did Ethereum miners earn in fees during September?
A: Ethereum miners earned 450,089 ETH in transaction fees during September 2025—equivalent to about $1.687 billion at current prices.
Q: Why are Ethereum transaction fees so high?
A: High fees result from network congestion caused by heavy usage from DeFi applications, NFT marketplaces, and token transfers. When demand exceeds supply for block space, users bid up gas prices to prioritize their transactions.
Q: Is Ethereum mining still profitable compared to Bitcoin?
A: Yes. As of September 2025, Ethereum mining was reported to be three times more profitable than Bitcoin mining due to elevated transaction fee income.
Q: What impact does DeFi have on ETH demand?
A: DeFi increases demand for ETH in two key ways: first, as gas fees paid in ETH, and second, as collateral or liquidity within lending and yield farming protocols.
Q: Are high gas fees driving users away from Ethereum?
A: There are growing signs that high costs are deterring smaller users and developers. Some projects have migrated to alternative chains offering lower fees, indicating that scalability is critical for retaining ecosystem growth.
Q: What solutions exist to reduce Ethereum’s transaction costs?
A: Scalability solutions include Layer 2 rollups (like Arbitrum and Optimism), sidechains, and the long-term upgrade path of Ethereum 2.0, which aims to improve throughput via sharding and proof-of-stake consensus.
Ethereum stands at a pivotal moment. The surge in miner revenue underscores its current dominance in decentralized finance—but also highlights urgent structural challenges. To remain the foundation of Web3 innovation, it must evolve quickly, balancing profitability for miners with accessibility for users. The next phase of development will determine whether Ethereum scales with its success or becomes a victim of its own popularity.