Ethereum's recent Gas fee fluctuations have a notable impact on DeFi user activity. When fees spike, as seen in the past few months reaching up to 20 Gwei during high - traffic periods, DeFi transactions decline. Chain - on data shows that daily DeFi transaction volumes dropped by 30% during these fee - hike phases. High fees deter small - scale users from swapping tokens or using lending protocols. Conversely, when fees fall, like the recent low of 5 Gwei, activity rebounds slightly, but not to pre - spike levels. The long - term downward trend in user activity indicates that sustained high fees are driving users to more cost - effective alternatives, such as certain Layer 2 solutions or other blockchains.​