Bitwise Says Fusaka Improves Ethereum UX But Falls Short on Revenue Expectations

Why It Matters

The revision highlights the limits of fee‑floor mechanisms in driving mainnet revenue, reshaping investor expectations for Ethereum’s monetization strategy.

Key Takeaways

• Fusaka adds minimum blob fee, stabilizing costs.
• Ethereum revenue fell ~99% since 2021 peak.
• Higher throughput outweighs fee floor, revenue unchanged.
• Bitwise cuts 5‑10x revenue forecast to negligible.
• L2 margins improve while mainnet revenue stays low.

Pulse Analysis

Ethereum’s scaling roadmap has increasingly relied on Layer 2 solutions that batch transactions and submit compressed data, known as blobs, to the base chain. The Fusaka upgrade, launched in December 2025, set a floor on blob fees to curb volatile pricing and protect L2 profitability. By guaranteeing a minimum cost, the protocol aimed to create a predictable revenue stream for the base layer while preserving the low‑cost advantage that fuels DeFi activity. This structural change reflects a broader industry push to balance user experience with sustainable network economics.

In practice, the fee floor has been outpaced by a surge in transaction throughput. As more applications migrate to rollups, the volume of blobs has risen sharply, diluting the per‑blob fee impact. Bitwise’s latest research shows that, despite higher per‑blob prices, the net contribution to Ethereum’s total revenue remains negligible. The firm’s earlier 5‑10× revenue projection proved overly optimistic, prompting a recalibration of expectations. This outcome underscores the complexity of multi‑input revenue models where fee structures, network usage, and macro‑economic factors intersect.

For investors and developers, the Fusaka experience offers a cautionary tale about relying on fee‑based incentives alone. While L2 margins have improved, the mainnet’s revenue floor remains low, prompting discussions about alternative monetization pathways such as EIP‑4844 data availability markets or value‑capture mechanisms tied to rollup activity. Additionally, the lower fee environment has inadvertently enabled novel attack vectors, exemplified by address‑poisoning scams. Stakeholders must therefore weigh user‑experience gains against security and economic sustainability when evaluating future upgrades.