Sustained low network activity tends to push on-chain fee markets toward a predictable, low-fee equilibrium because demand for block space falls below available supply. Under modern fee designs this process happens as the on-chain base fee and user bidding adjust in response to persistently underfilled blocks, producing gradual convergence rather than abrupt swings.
Mechanism and timing
On Ethereum-style fee designs introduced by EIP-1559 the protocol updates the base fee up or down according to block utilization, moving at a bounded rate of up to 12.5 percent change per block as described in the EIP specification and explained by Vitalik Buterin at the Ethereum Foundation. When many consecutive blocks are less than the target gas usage, the base fee declines incrementally until transactions that include small priority fees are sufficient to reach target utilization. Convergence in this setting therefore occurs over multiple blocks and is driven by the stepwise base-fee adjustment; the speed depends on how far current utilization is from the target and how long low demand persists.
Causes and consequences
The primary cause of convergence during low activity is simple supply–demand imbalance: when users submit few transactions relative to block capacity there is little competitive pressure to raise fees. Theoretical work on transaction fee equilibria by Tim Roughgarden at Columbia University and others shows that auction design and bidder behavior determine whether fees settle quickly at a low level or remain volatile. In practice, EIP-1559 style mechanics produce more predictable low fees because the protocol actively reduces base fees in response to underuse.
Consequences include lower average cost of on-chain interactions for users in regions or communities that rely on inexpensive transacting, which can increase inclusion and support low-value economic activity. For validators or miners the revenue mix shifts toward tips and protocol rewards, reducing fee-related income volatility. Environmentally and operationally, persistently low activity reduces per-transaction resource pressure; after Ethereum’s transition to proof-of-stake the direct energy implications of fee convergence are smaller than they were under proof-of-work, though network utilization still affects node resource use.
In summary, fee markets naturally converge during sustained low activity as protocol-level base-fee mechanisms and strategic user bidding push prices down over successive blocks until a low, stable equilibrium consistent with target utilization is reached.